


The Looking Glass

by Ayanami84



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, Fantasy, Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, M/M, Magical War, Romance, Shapeshifters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2019-11-12 10:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18008936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayanami84/pseuds/Ayanami84
Summary: For most of his life, Taeyong only found solace and company in his books. The past three years had been a blessing for him as he has made friends he could rely on and ease the inner struggles of someone who had never felt love from people who raised him. He is content leading a quiet and unassuming life tutoring kids struggling with Korean and volunteering part time at the local public library. One stormy night a strange man all dressed in white, a mirror and a mysterious magic hat turn his life upside down and show him wonders he never imagined possible… and give him a chance to show someone else that you don’t need to have the weight of the world on your shoulders. He just wished it wasn’t in the middle of a war.(The title isn’t a coincidence, this is indeed inspired by every incarnation of Alice in Wonderland ever)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Me: "Dammit, why did I decide to write two fics at once... It is hard enough to keep a regular schedule and inspiration flow with life getting in the way"
> 
> Also me: "I NEED TO WRITE THIS NCT ALICE IN WONDERLAND MASH-UP RIGHT NOW"
> 
> So here we are folks. I had this idea three days ago and I needed to write it to make sure it saw the light of day. OF COURSE I am going to finish my other fics... I've been working on them every break I get, but this had to be done. And also, as those who kinda follow my other stories know, this helps me vent ideas that don't fit anywhere else... and make me write more!
> 
> I debated whether this should be a story based on Peter Pan or Alice... decided on the latter because of some plot devices I wanted to use, even though it is going to feel like Taeyong is taking care of the lost boys sometimes. I took inspiration from many different modern and old adaptations of the Wonderland universe to write this, but it is all still recognizable (hopefully) if you only know Lewis Carroll's books.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the ride!
> 
> ps. Hair colors... they've had them at some point in their careers... I chose the ones that fit the characters the most.

One thing was certain, that the white pipe had nothing to do with it. It was the black pipe’s fault entirely. Taeyong stared helplessly at the leaking sink, tools in hands and water pooling around him. Maybe he shouldn’t have tried to fix it himself, but he didn’t want the extra expense. It would probably cost him more now. YouTube videos weren’t enough when it came to plumbing, apparently.

He sighed and turned off the main valves to stop the water from flooding his bathroom even further. He would have to ask his neighbor to use her shower. It was the third favor he asked her just this month. Irene was always nice to him, but he felt like he had been imposing on her the last few weeks. Maybe it was that astral thing, with his twenty-fifth birthday coming up, all bad luck in the world seemed to be surrounding him.

Drying the floor as neatly as he could, he took a change of clothes and a clean towel and walked over to Irene’s apartment, three doors down the hall. He prayed she was home and preferably alone, as it would be terrible to interrupt her and her girlfriend… again. He rang the door bell and waited until a frazzled petite brunette opened the door.

“Hey, Tae”, she said between yawns. “Irene isn’t home”.

“Did I wake you?”, he didn’t expect to find anyone sleeping in the middle of the afternoon.

“I crashed on the couch as soon as I got home”, the brunette answered trying to put her messy long hair into a ponytail. “I’m glad someone woke me up, don’t worry”.

“Wendy, I’m sorry. I really need a favor”, it isn’t great timing to ask for something, but he needs to take a bath before his shift at the library and it had to be soon or he would be late. It was volunteer work, but he took it seriously.

Wendy blinked a few times, finally taking in all the stuff Taeyong was carrying with him. “Did you try to fix the leaking sink by yourself?”, she raised an eyebrow at him. He had been complaining about that goddamn leak for almost a month now.

“Yeah, I’m an idiot, I know”, he sighed.

“Oh sweetie, come in”, she opened the door so that he could pass. “Irene won’t mind for sure. Just go ahead and do what you have to do. I’m gonna make us some coffee”.

Taeyong took off his shoes and made a beeline for the bathroom, throwing his thanks hastily over his shoulder. If he was quick enough, he would have plenty of time to enjoy a cup of coffee with Wendy. Her coffee was something magical, Taeyong loved it. Until he met the petite barista, he didn’t even know coffee could taste like anything but bitter dirt. When he left the steam filled room, hurriedly drying his hair, Wendy was sitting on the couch cross-legged and holding two steaming cups. He gladly took one and sat next to her.

“Thank you”, he said between sips. “This will make my day much better”.

Wendy smiled maternally. She tended to do that around him. They both did. Irene had somewhat adopted him when he moved in. She just showed up at his door with banana bread and coffee, Wendy’s coffee, and demanded to know his life story. She has a pretty commanding persona, almost scaringly so, it was quite hard for him to deny her. She then stated that she liked him and has unofficially been taking care of him ever since. It’s been three years. He was then fresh out of college and had dreams of becoming a teacher. He still has, it is just that it is quite hard to get a permanent position in a good school.

“Any problems with your pupils?”, she asked sitting closer.

“Not the kids, the parents”, he sipped the magical coffee trying to shake away the image of the rich entitled so-called parents that think he should dedicate his full day tutoring their kids, but don’t think they should pay for it.

“Ah, rich people. They think they own us”, she scrunched her nose.

“Not all, but oh so many”, he gulped the rest of the delicious coffee, trying to ignore the burning. “I have to go to the library”.

“Want me to call a plumber to fix your mess?”, she took their empty mugs and walked into the kitchen.

“I don’t want to burden you”, he stood at the door, inspecting the floors. He was embarrassed that he needed them yet again.

“Tae, it is nothing. I’ll be home just lounging on the couch. Give me something useful to do”, she smiled brightly.

“I’m a mess! Why can’t I do anything anymore?”, he leaned his forehead on the door frame.

“Don’t be dramatic, sweetie. It isn’t a good look on you”, she laughed. “Give me your key and I’ll take care of everything, don’t worry. Now, go or you’ll be late”, she ushered him to the front door.

“Thank you, Wendy”, he turned back to give the shorter girl a hug.

“Consider this your birthday present”, she smirked. “I didn’t have time to buy you anything”.

He laughed as she blew him a kiss before closing the door. It would be useless to fight against any decision those girls made. If he said he had to take care of things on his own, Wendy would tell him the same thing she always did. _That’s the beauty of having people to rely on, sweetie._ It would either be that or Irene calling him a dumbass and hitting him until he kneeled and accepted their help.

He walked out to grey skies and a busy street. Seemed like it was going to be a rainy afternoon. He sure had to hurry to take the subway before the first drops.

 

***

 

The storm outside hadn’t subsided. Loud thunder echoed every minute or so in the quiet, mostly empty, library. It had been a busy day even with the threat of downpour. Activity had died down, but there were still a lot of things to do. Taeyong had given himself the task of reorganizing the returned books for the last couple of hours.

“Hey squirt, let me handle non-fiction. There is a huge pile of your favorite section waiting for you on the counter”, Minho spoke softly not to disturb the few students lingering around them.

“You just want to take over a job almost done”, Taeyong rolled his eyes at the librarian.

“Being your supervisor has its perks”, Minho flashed his million watts smile at him. He was tall, athletic and handsome. And he knew it. “Go be with your elves and fairies…go”, he shooed Taeyong towards the front desk.

Minho could be a dick sometimes, but he was an overall nice guy. More than once he had helped Taeyong out by referring him to rich friends of friends who needed a Korean tutor, always letting him use the private study rooms at the library. One of the many blessings the past couple of years have granted him. Growing up hadn’t been easy, going from foster home to foster home until he was of age and had to learn how to fend for himself.

It was a miracle that he put himself through college without too many bumps along the road. Through mostly what could be considered charity work from the social offices and the small inheritance his parents had left to be used in his education, he managed to navigate through his first years of adulthood. Maybe that is why he had had so much bad luck the weeks leading up to his birthday. It was the universe showing him how fortunate he was to have landed the most amazing circle of friends someone could ask for. And now that he was aware of that, what was he supposed to do? Pay it forward?

He crossed the few rows of tables to the pile of books left on the counter. He sifted through a few of them trying to sort out which shelves they belonged to. Minho always put books like _Alice in Wonderland_ and _Peter and Wendy_ on the fantasy and fairy tale section when Taeyong knew for a fact they should be at the classics section. They were always arguing about that.

“Someone left this ugly-ass fedora over at the History section”, Ms. Kwon clicked her heels towards him, carrying said item on the tips of her perfectly manicured nails.

“Some people think it’s stylish”, he said taking the murky green item out of her hands.

“Not that color, it isn’t”, she placed herself behind the counter and started checking in a small pile of books in their system. She was a stern woman and Taeyong had been wary of her in the beginning. But just as he got used to Minho’s attitude, he learned how to see through her harsh tones and scowls. Deep inside she was a softy.

“Want me to put it in the storage?”, they didn’t have a _lost & found _department per se, but they certainly kept things people left behind. At least for a few days. Then it was either thrown away or donated to charity.

“Yes, bury it deep so no one can find it”, Ms. Kwon didn’t even take her eyes from the screen.

Taeyong chuckled as he put down the books he was holding and started making his way to the back. He had to open up a path in between the heaps of recently donated books that hadn’t been catalogued yet and a few more that had seen much better days and needed to be repaired or recycled. He reached the hallway to the back entrance, a long stretch of walls with a series of doors that were rarely opened.

Thunder struck close and the sound was almost deafening echoing through the bare space, lights flickering eerily. He had his hand on the storage room door handle when a loud thump and the clatter of a collection of things hitting the floor called his attention. It was supposed to be empty, at this time of day there were only three people working at the library and the other two were upfront.

The sound of struggle came through the closed door and Taeyong heard a grunt and another thump. He didn’t have his phone on him, and it would probably be stupid to go in alone. On the other hand, if he didn’t confront whoever it was, they would escape before he could get Minho back there. Taeyong held the green fedora tightly on his left hand, like that could be of any help in a fight, and practically kicked the door open as soon as he heard a muffled cry.

The storage room was dark and it took Taeyong a few beats to adjust to the scene framed by the hallway light now starting to flood the space. There were two figures on the floor. One sprawled and clutching their stomach, all white clothing weirdly contrasting with the darkness that surrounded them. The other was no more than a dark shadow that Taeyong couldn’t discern. It seemed to have an arm stretched behind its head the moment Taeyong busted in. The figure in white used this momentary distraction to try and crawl away from the shadowy figure, but it seemed fruitless and the dark figure lurched towards it, arm arching down. Something silver and pointy caught the light and Taeyong could see the shadow was carrying some kind of knife.

“STOP!”, it all happened so fast that screaming was the only thing Taeyong’s brain allowed him to do. He couldn’t let whoever was on the floor be stabbed what seemed to be a second time, but how could he get there in time? His left hand clutched around the fedora suddenly felt hot. He had his right hand stretched out as if he was trying to physically take the knife away or push the attacker. He watched as his fingertips glowed a bluish strange light before a jolt of electric energy ran through his body and shot out hitting the shadow.

The dark figure flickered in place, eyes wide open and staring at Taeyong. Its eyes flashed red and he could have sworn he saw a set of horns growing out of what he assumed was a human head. He couldn’t see much past that as in a millisecond the shadows dissipated and disappeared, the object it was carrying floating midair for a moment before shattering on the ground.

“What the fuck…”, Taeyong was breathless, left hand clutching the ugly hat to his heart and right hand tingling like he just had been shocked. He was reminded of the other still sprawled on the floor when he heard a sharp intake of breath.

Gingerly approaching, Taeyong could see a young man in a fancy white suit, all pristine except for the growing red stain under his hand. His silvery hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat and his dark eyes were wide and staring at the remains of whatever weapon had been shattered.

“Are you ok?”, it was a dumb question, but Taeyong’s brain was trying to catch up with what was happening. He slowly kneeled closer to the other man.

“How…”, his voice was hoarse and he seemed out of breath. He winced as he tried to move.

“We can freak out about impossible things happening later. Who are you and how did you get here?”, he could try and be pragmatic. He didn’t have to think about horns, red glowing eyes, bluish shots of light with someone bleeding at his feet. Taeyong moved the other’s hand from the wound to inspect it. For the amount of blood that seemed to have stuck to the shirt he would think that the cut was deep, but it didn’t seem like it.

“How could you see it?”, the man whispered, still not looking at Taeyong.

“What is your name?”, Taeyong had to call someone for help, but he didn’t want to leave the bleeding stranger. The man finally looked at him and Taeyong repeated the question.

“Doyoung”, he said and seemed to regret it as soon as the word left his mouth. He shook his head and wobbly stood up, using the shelves nearby as leverage.

“You shouldn’t move around much, I don’t know how deep the cut is”, Taeyong tried to stop the guy, but he just started walking around searching the stacked boxes on the corner of the room for something.

“I’m late. I have to go”, he said looking at his pocket watch. _Who the hell carries pocket watches?_

“You’re not going anywhere, pal. You shouldn’t be here in the first place. You’ll have to explain yourself first”, Taeyong tried to inflect as much authority as he could to his tone, but it didn’t stop Doyoung from moving around.

“I’m late”, he repeated. “I need a mirror”, he stopped and looked at Taeyong. His eyes wandered to the murky green fedora Taeyong was unconsciously clutching with a death grip to his chest. “Where did you find it?”, he pointed, eyes widening again. “How could you use it?”, he stepped forward, but his knees buckled and Taeyong ran forward to catch him.

“Easy, man. You’ve been stabbed by… by that… what was that?”

“I need a mirror. I am really late”, Doyoung seemed almost frantic. _What the hell does he need a mirror for?_

“Ok, easy there. There is one on the bathroom across the hall”, the crazy man would try to get there anyway, so Taeyong gave in and helped him limp the short distance and opened the door.

As soon as they got in the bathroom, Doyoung set himself free from Taeyong’s hold and stepped closer to the sink. He put his bloodied hand on the mirror in front of him and held his watch with the other. He started muttering strange words and Taeyong wasn’t sure if the man was like this because of blood loss of because he had always been batshit crazy. His patience was reaching a limit and he was about to forcefully drag the injured man to the front desk when the mirror started glowing that same bluish light he saw coming from his fingertips.

Still clutching the hat, he absently stepped closer when the glow intensified. Doyoung pushed himself over the sink and Taeyong tried catching him, getting hold of one of his legs, but there was not much else he could do as he felt his whole body being sucked in by the white bright light. Suddenly he was surrounded, and then he felt nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is indeed a Taeyong/Johnny fic, ok? Just be patient ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

He wasn’t sure what was going on. His body felt heavy and it was hard to open his eyes. Every time Taeyong tried he saw flashes of color and felt a sharp pain pierce his brain. He could hear whispers around him, there were a few voices bouncing around, but he wasn’t able to understand any of what they were saying. He was coming in and out of conscious, though he knew he was being moved. He had been laid in some sort of soft material. Was it a bed? Did crazy guy hit him in the head? Had Minho or Ms. Kwon found him and took him somewhere? All he could remember was bright white light and a whole space full of nothing, his body floating for a second and then, pain.

“Hey, he is waking up”, he finally distinguished what one of the voices where saying.

“Fuck”, another voice, closer to his face. “Call the others”. There was some shuffling and a door opened and closed.

Taeyong laid still, not really daring to move or open his eyes. He didn’t recognize any of the voices. _Maybe I’m at a hospital._ He listened carefully, but there was nothing that would indicate where he was. There was just the sound of someone breathing next to his head. It was so close that he could feel his face heat up. Slowly and tentatively he tried opening his eyes again, afraid of the pain he felt before, but there was none.

He blinked trying to gather his surroundings. He was definitely inside, and it was definitely not a hospital. The space was badly lit, something that looked too much like an oil lamp hanged from one of the walls. The room was bare except for a wooden table with a wash basin on the corner and two chairs, one of them with a pile of clothes. His clothes. He shot up as soon as he realized it, pain spreading from his spine to his temple.

“Hey, hey… easy there fellow”, the voice came closer and he felt hands gently guiding him back to bed. “The first crossing can take its toll on you”.

“Crossing?”, Taeyong felt his throat dry and his voice hoarse like he had been screaming. He palmed down his torso and thighs to make sure he was clothed. It was a silly move because he could feel fabric against his skin.

“Yeah, you know, between there and here”. That didn’t make sense at all, but Taeyong wasn’t in good shape to argue. He tried to sit down to face whoever was talking to him. He felt hands again helping him move around. He turned to see an unfamiliar but friendly face of a young man in an oversized cream shirt and brown leather pants leaning over his semi-prone body.

“Where am I?”, he asked as the friendly man handed him a glass of water.

“You’re at the Rabbit’s Hovel”, he stated proudly. It seemed like that was something Taeyong should be impressed about, but he just stared blankly at the young man before him.

“How long have I been here?”, he sipped his water as he looked around again now that his eyes had adjusted to the penumbra. That was definitely an oil lamp. Where was he? The eighteen hundreds?

“Two days”, Taeyong spit what he was drinking. The young man leaned back not to be hit in the face, his blond hair falling messily over his eyes. “Told you first crossing can be difficult”.

Before Taeyong could say anything back, the door opened and two people joined them in the small room, both almost as tall as the door frame they walked past. One was just an addition to unfamiliar faces he was encountering since he woke up, his soft brownish hair framing his delicate, but sharp, features. The other was Doyoung, his silver hair neatly combed back and much more prominent now that he wasn’t wearing his all white suit.

“Hello”, Doyoung smiled when he approached. “Good to see you awake. How are you feeling?”

“I have no idea where I am, I don’t know any of you and I have a terrible headache”, Taeyong spat, without raising his voice. “I’m peachy”.

“Are all trespassers this grumpy?”, the brown-haired man rolled his eyes at Taeyong.

“He was being nice until you got here, Jaehyun”, the blond guy next to him childishly stated.

Doyoung sighed audibly and both men were quiet. “Sicheng, go find Jisung and help Yuta in the kitchen”. The blond man nodded, hair falling over his eyes again. He smiled at Taeyong and waved goodbye when he reached the door, not saying anything else.

“Where am I?”, Taeyong asked the two men left in the room.

“The Rabbit’s Hovel”, the brown-haired one, Jaehyun, stated matter-of-factly.

“That doesn’t mean anything to me”, Taeyong flailed his arms, exasperated. “Am I a hostage? Did you just kidnap me?”, he wasn’t being overdramatic, that was just a logical conclusion.

“You were the one who gripped him and wouldn’t let go”, Jaehyun huffed.

“Well, he was the one acting crazy looking for mirrors and climbing over fragile and breakable sinks with a huge gash on his stomach”, why was he explaining himself to these people? Doyoung placed a hand over his shirt right on where the injure should be.

“I can explain everything”, he said giving Jaehyun a pointed look. He sat at the edge of Taeyong’s bed. The other just huffed and crossed the room to lean on the wall near the door. “Let me introduce us first”, Doyoung continued. “I’m Doyoung, owner of the Rabbit’s Hovel”, he slightly bowed. “Grumpy-pants over there is Jaehyun, my right hand man”.

“Lieutenant”, Jaehyun huffed. “You sure you should be giving out names to strangers? We are at war, for fuck’s sake”.

Doyoung sighed. “He is an outsider. He saved my life. He killed a shadow imp. He has one of Hatter’s magic objects with him”, he showed his long fingers, counting each argument. “I am pretty sure he isn’t a spy for the Queen”. Taeyong quietly took another sip of his water. He was surrounded by lunatics. “Besides, White Rabbit and March Hare aren’t exactly titles that he would understand anyway”, Doyoung smiled at Jaehyun. The latter rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything else.

“Ok, Wonderland boys. When the fuck are you going to stop bantering and start explaining why I am trapped in a 19th century room with you two and when the fuck can I leave and pretend none of this happened?” Taeyong had enough. Hatter, White Rabbit and March Hare? What kind of game are these bizarre man playing that need codenames like those?

“You were sucked in the vortex of my transportation spell and ended up at my house”, Doyoung offered, wide eyes mirroring Jaehyun slack jawed expression. “How… how did you know about it?”

“What?”, it would be great to follow any part of the conversation being held in this room.

“Wonderland”, Jaehyun supplied, stepping closer to the bed.

“I... Every child in the universe knows about Alice in Wonderland. Your codes are dumb”, he said pinching the bridge of his nose.

Doyoung stared at him for a few beats, silence dragging between them. Taeyong wasn’t a short tempered guy, he really wasn’t. He was also not stupid, this could potentially be the most dangerous situation he had been in all his life. But, c’mon! This is ridiculous! How could he keep his cool? He was ready to start an angry rant when Doyoung abruptly got up.

“Hey…where...”, Taeyong started getting up.

“Come with me”, he said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

Taeyong scrambled to get up and find his shoes, ignoring the dull pain in his head. He just then noticed he was wearing a white flowy shirt and dark pants. Someone changed his pants. He didn’t want to delve on that, eager to just leave this place.

He followed Doyoung along a badly lit hallway. It reminded Taeyong of those old hotels that showed up in movies, dark wood and burgundy carpet. The paintings adorning the walls, however, depicted an entirely different atmosphere. They were colorful and dreamlike, with strange flora and impossible fauna, straight out of a fantasy book. They were all labeled, but Doyoung didn’t slow down as he neared a corner, so Taeyong didn’t have time to read any of the notes on the strange gallery.

He fell in step next to Doyoung as he pushed past an opulent double door. The cacophony of sounds hit Taeyong even before he stepped into the room. Clanking of dishes and pans, loud laughter and conversation, a bleak contrast with the eerily silence of the other side of the house. What looked like a house. Or something. He looked around the spacious kitchen and took in the scene. There were a lot (like, really, too many) of young man walking around simmering caldrons and a wood-burning stove. It smelled like breakfast and other wonderful things and Taeyong’s stomach growled unhappily.

“Trespasser!”, a loud excited voice called his attention and turned to see the blond man from before… Sicheng?... coming towards him with a full plate. Eggs, bacon, bread… his stomach grumpily complained again. “Hungry? I was going to go back with this, but now that you’re here…”, the smiling man gestured to the table.

“In a few minutes, Sicheng”, Doyoung answered before Taeyong could say anything. “I need to show him outside”.

“Oh… right”, his wide-eyed expression gave him an air of innocence that was incredibly cute. _For a crazy person_ , Taeyong’s mind added.

He tried to hide his disappointment when the food disappeared from his sight and followed Doyoung across the room. He noticed a few heads turn his way and some people whispered as he passed by. Another set of doors and they were at what seemed like a foyer, one door each side and a spiral staircase at the end of it. The stairway was up. Was he underground? That would explain the lack of windows. Doyoung walked up the stairs without looking back. Taeyong wasn’t sure how much longer he would have to walk after the silver haired man.

“We’re almost there”, Taeyong jumped as he heard Jaehyun’s voice from behind him. He hadn’t noticed that he had been trailing them. He nodded and hastily went up the steps.

Another dark room was waiting for him upstairs. This one moist and moldy, like the insides of an old bark. He smelled wet earth just like he did when it rained in the summer. He looked up and he could see a mess of roots. Definitely underground then. Doyoung placed his palm on a small mirror hanging on the far side wall and it glowed that bluish light before the ceiling... or floor… something above them trembled and opened, letting bright light shine in and illuminate the ladder leading up to the entrance.

“There hasn’t been a trespasser in these parts for over two hundred years”, Doyoung’s voice startled him. “Later you will tell us how you know this place, but…”, he sighed. “Just know that we… I… didn’t intend for you to end up here with us. It was an accident”. Taeyong just blinked at him. Was he going to go home or not? His headache was going to return with a vengeance. Without any other word Doyoung just turned and climbed the ladder. Jaehyun nudged him forward gently, so Taeyong did the same.

The bright sunlight was almost blinding to eyes that had been bathed in penumbra. It takes a few moments for Taeyong to effectively open his eyes and focus on the space around him. His heart speeds up and he gasps as he is assaulted with a multitude of colors and strange shapes as he looks over the cliff they were dangerously close to. It was like all the oddly fantastical paintings from the hallway had mashed into one massive canvas. Pink forests, purple rivers and weird oval shaped buildings covered one patch of bright green field.

As he got close to the edge, he could see impossibly giant flowers dancing a few feet down the steep, stretching their bed to what looked like miles to the north, alternating with clearings of what seemed like wooden houses, culminating in a high colorful hill and ruins that where too far to discern. All around the collection of bizarreries there were different types of oaks that seemed to have grown a bit too much, huge skyscrapers that Taeyong could have sworn were flashing thousands of faint lights all over their bark. It all seemed impossible, yet perfectly real.

“Welcome to Wonderland”, Doyoung said beside him.

“How?”, Taeyong could string two words together. He kind of preferred the time when he thought he had been kidnapped. “This… how is this real?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”, Jaehyun walked closer, looking over the stretch of flamboyant and multicolored land.

“I’m dreaming”, Taeyong nodded. “Of course, I must have hit my head somewhere down the path to the storage room”, he slowly started tracing back the path they took there. “Weird ass dream with shadow monster, electric hats and… fuck… I don’t even know what that was”, he muttered.

Halfway through the foyer someone caught his arm. He looked up to see Doyoung. “I have never seen a trespasser, I don’t really know what to do, but you are definitely not dreaming”, he pinched Taeyong with all his might.

“Ow mother…”, he jumped two feet away from the silver haired man, nursing his abused arm. “Why did you do that?”

“It is not a dream. That was proof”, he shrugged.

“I want to go home now”, Taeyong huffed.

“Hum…”, Doyoung shot him a sheepish look. Taeyong really didn’t like it. “So…hum… you can’t”

“What?”, this was it. This was when he was told that they would ask for ransom. Or cook him and eat him. Anything was possible at this point.

“We don’t know how to send you back”, Jaehyun chimed in. “Believe me, we tried”.

“Do your mirror spell thingy”, he was desperate. Magic could be real for all he cared. Look at where he was.

“So…yeah… about that”, Doyoung looked everywhere but at him. “I know the spell to bring me here. I don’t know how to get…there”

“But you were there”, Taeyong leaned on the closest wall. He didn’t like where this conversation was going.

“That was an accident. I don’t know how I got there. One moment I was preparing to come back home the next I was being attacked by the shadow imp and falling into your world”, the silver haired man clutched his stomach where the wound was.

“So I am a prisoner…”, Taeyong closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing. Astral hell, that was it. His birthday bad luck. Stuck in… _holy crap! I am in Wonderland_. _Magic is real and I can’t go home_. He felt like he was going to pass out.

“No… we… let’s have breakfast”, Doyoung just went past him back to the noisy kitchen.

Taeyong stomach growled in response. Well, one crisis at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guy... GUYS! I have actually written down lore for this fic! Shit! Hang in there, ok? I am still testing how to do exposition without breaking the story.
> 
> So this is part 1 of my update this week. I am finishing the second one. As I said before, I am trying to wrap up my other NCT fic before diving into this one fully. If you haven't read it and want some Johnny/Taeyong action (this is that kind of fic, I swear... next chapter they'll meet, promise), here are my other two fics: [a one shot](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16695055) and [my almost complete fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15954089/chapters/37206629)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have newfound respect for fantasy writers. I am flailing around trying to sew lore bits into the dialog. HARD!

He was probably in shock. That was the only possible explanation to why he found himself sitting down at an underground kitchen in an apparently magic parallel world eating breakfast and making conversation with the strangest people on Earth. Maybe not on Earth because… well, he doesn’t really know if this place qualifies as such. From the moment he followed Doyoung back into the Rabbit’s Hovel… that was the name of their hiding place, because apparently they needed hiding … he was bombarded by questions.

“Is it true your world has no magic?”, Sicheng had asked as soon as they sat around the table.

“As far as I know, yes”

“Then how come you saved the White Rabbit?”, one of the youngest, Jisung, asked him, frowning at Doyoung.

“Beats me”, Taeyong shrugged. There was so much that needed to be explained. He knew nothing about this place or these people.

There were eighteen young men living at the Rabbit’s Hovel. Eighteen lively, noisy young men. They talked about teleporting mirrors, spells and electric blue lights shooting from the tip of his fingers, but no part of their animated chat clarified anything. And Taeyong was just too hungry and overwhelmed to ask.

“That is one question that has yet to be answered”, Doyoung smiled at him. Was he seriously expecting Taeyong to have an explanation to what have transpired in the storage room?

“I have absolutely no idea”, Taeyong shrugged as he dug into his piece of bread.

“Trespasser, how did you get the magic hat?”, Jaehyun pointedly asked, rolling his eyes. _He does that a lot, doesn’t he?_

“My name is Taeyong”, he huffed.

“You were clutching the hat to your chest the whole time”, Doyoung offered. “Probably why you were able to follow me here”. _Follow_ , _right_.

“The fedora?”, Taeyong raised an eyebrow. “My boss found it lying on the floor. I was supposed to take it to the storage room and stash it. Then this happened”, he gestured around him.

“It is one of Hatters, for sure”. One of the eldest said quietly from his perch near the entrance door. He had been silently observing Taeyong since he was dragged to the breakfast table by Sicheng and a blue haired boy called Jungwoo. It was a little unnerving, but there was no malice in his gaze. “I smelled him all over that ugly thing”, he added moving a few strands of dark brown hair off his face.

“Where is it now?”, Jaehyun asked looking around.

“I kept it safe”, Jisung sprang from his seat and dove through one of the doors on the far left of the spacious room. He came back holding the murky green object Taeyong had been carrying before any of this happened. Except it looked different now.

“Has it always glowed like this?”, Taeyong asked, mouth full of bacon. Eighteen pairs of eyes turned to him. Sicheng whistled. “What?”

“What do you see?”, the quiet man stood up and got closer. Taeyong could have sworn his eyes changed color.

“I… it is glowing now. It wasn’t before”, Taeyong scratched his head. “There is like a blue glow around it”. No, he wasn’t imagining it. His eyes actually shifted colors. They went from brown to silver than back to brown.

“Taeil, do you smell anything on him?”, Jaehyun asked. Weird-eyed guy, Taeil, shook his head.

“No, he doesn’t smell like magic. He isn’t caring any other object”

“Does magic smell?”, Taeyong looked around the table. Some were smiling profusely, some were wide-eyed and in awe. Doyoung and Jaehyun were frowning.

“I have a sensitive nose”, Taeil grinned.

“Maybe that’s why he could use it”, Doyoung said after a few beats. “But there hasn’t…”, he trailed off.

“It may be just lingering effect from the spell embedded in the hat”, another member of the household suggested. He was sitting cross-legged in his chair, a bowl of dried jujubes on his lap. He was curled around it protectively, even though he wasn’t eating them. His grey beanie covered most of his orangish hair. It seemed to be twitching and… was that a tail?

“Mark may be right”, Taeil sighs. “Is there a way to test it?”, he asks Doyoung.

Doyoung took his watch from his pocket and waved it in front of Taeyong. “Tresp… hum… Taeyong, do you see anything?”

“Yes, I see a watch”, it was Taeyong’s turn to roll his eyes. Doyoung calmly waited. “It is glowing. White”, Taeyong sighed. “It’s like your theme, or something”, he couldn’t stop himself. There were a few snorts around the table, even Doyoung smiled.

“Shit, he has it then”, jujube boy, Mark, said. He scratched his head, beanie a little askew, revealing one catlike ear. Taeyong resisted the urge to shut his eyes and shake his head to try and make the image go away. _Suspension of disbelief… yeah, let’s roll with that_. And that was definitely a tail. A fluffy orange tail.

“What exactly do I supposedly have?”, Taeyong asked as he looked around the table once again.

“None of us can see magical auras, Taeyong. Some can somehow feel it, others can, well, smell it”, he points at Taeil. “But the ones that can see it? They are born with magic”. Not for the first time, Taeyong stared blankly at the silver-haired man’s face.

“You can do spells and stuff”, Taeyong adds stupidly.

“Yes, because I have this”, Doyoung waves his watch. “It is a catalyzer, an enchanted object. I learned how to use magic, I wasn’t born with it”.

“There is no such thing as magic where I am from”

“We know, that’s why… this is so unexpected”, Taeil groaned going back to his perch.

“You all seem to know a whole lot about my end of the mirror”, Taeyong muttered.

“You knew about Wonderland”, Jaehyun plops down next to him. “How?”

“Alice in Wonderland”, he looks around but there is no reaction. “You know, the book?”, they all blink at him. “Lewis Carrol?”

“There is a book about us?”, Jungwoo sounds excited.

“Well, not exactly. Things are different. Like, the white rabbit is truly a rabbit, albeit sentient”, he doesn’t want to explain further, he isn’t about to tell them a bedtime story.

“We need Hatter” Jaehyun tells Doyoung. “He knows about this, his father…”

“He doesn’t want to see anybody”, the man that had been making them breakfast speaks for the first time. He had been quietly stirring the pots while the others where conversing. He let go of the spoon and crossed his arms. Taeyong could see that he was wearing a bracelet that had a different faint green spark on it, much less intense than the watch or the hat.

“C’mon Yuta, this is serious”, Doyoung sighs and gestures at Taeyong. “He can’t stay, now more than ever”

“How is the Queen going to know he is here?”, Yuta scoffs. “Is anybody telling her?”

“She knew I was near the ruins of the old palace and sent her demons after me”, Doyoung snaps. “Did any of us tell her then?”

The table erupts in loud protests, all of them speaking at once. Taeyong feels like he is being left out again. This is the second time he hears someone mentioning a Queen and this mysterious Hatter, but all the knowledge he has comes from literary sources and he doesn’t think those are reliable. If they are, he needs to get ready for head chopping and crazy talking. Is he in danger now that they think he is some kind of born miracle? He tries to call their attention a few times, but it is useless.

Suddenly a loud rumbling growl silences the group and almost makes Taeyong’s heart jump out of his chest. He nervously scans the room for a wild animal waiting to pounce at them. Instead, he sees Taeil, who had so far stayed out of the turmoil quietly sitting on his spot next to the door, standing closer to him, eyes glowing silver and fangs on display. His whole body emanates a faint silver glow.

“Our guest wants to speak”. He looks down at Taeyong smiling, canines retracting and eyes fading to brown again. Taeyong gulps and takes a few sharp breaths before looking up at the rest of them. They are all paying attention now.

“I…”, his heart is still accelerated. Taeil puts his hand on his shoulder reassuringly. Taeyong is sure he means well, but he is frankly terrified of him right now, so it doesn’t do any good.

“You scared him”, Yuta snorts.

“Sorry”, Taeil takes a step back. “You all just wouldn’t shut up”, he glares at the group and struts back to his chair.

Taeyong shakes his head. “There are so many things I want to ask, but honestly, I think I just need to find a way to get home”, he looks at Yuta. “If this Hatter person can help… please… I”, he takes a deep breath. “I wasn’t supposed to be here”. He was supposed to be home, fiddling around broken pipes and sulking about his bad luck.

“Yuta, I know he was your friend…” Jaehyun started.

“ _Our_ friend. He was _our_ friend”, Yuta shakes his head. “Damn it. He _is_ our friend”. He looks up and takes a deep breath. “Ok, I’ll show you the way. Just”, he pointedly looks at Doyoung “don’t push him. If he knows how, he will help”.

 

***

 

The noise around the kitchen died down as each person went about their business after breakfast. Jaehyun assigned each young man to a suitable position. Taeyong had observed fascinated, as it was far from a regular household chore list. Two would take the post at the watch tower at the edge of Wonderland woods, a few of them would work on maintaining the defensive spell set around the perimeter of the Rabbit’s Hovel. Some were going to travel through mirrors to patrol the land as there had been sightings of a wyvern in one of the far east villages. It all seemed fantastic and utterly impossible, yet, there he was in the middle of it all.

“We can’t use the mirror in the ruins anymore”, Doyoung said. “We need a new path to the north”

“Can you all just walk through mirrors anywhere you want?”, Taeyong had asked to no one in particular.

“Only when we know the way”, Jungwoo had supplied, blue hair falling over his eyes as he bent down to collect all the dishes on the table.

“And if it isn’t warded”, one other man, Lucas, added as he got up to help Jungwoo. “All the ones here are, obviously. But we all know the way”.

“We basically need to know the spell to that particular location”, Sicheng sat next to Taeyong. “You probably can do it without any magic object”, he smiled brightly.

“I can’t do any…magic”

“Yet”, Sicheng added, still smiling.

“Oh oh”, Jungwoo clapped his hands. “Ask Hatter to teach you! He would know since…”

“Time to go”, Yuta came back into the kitchen, interrupting the blue-haired young man.

Doyoung and Taeil got up and followed Yuta into the hallway of the strange gallery, Taeyong trailed behind them. He could now read the labels on each painting and they very much detailed the strange flora and fauna that had graced him when they first went outside the Hovel. Giant oaks with embedded houses and gnome like creatures around it, tiger orchids with actual whiskers and teeth, luminous blue and pink fungus and purply waterfalls. For a moment Taeyong wished he would be able to see them up close. They were fascinatingly beautiful.

Yuta opened a door on the far end of the long corridor, a few doors after the room where Taeyong had woken up just a few hours ago. The space was dimly lit with no furniture, except for a huge wall mirror. It had stunning wooden carvings in its frame, but from where he was standing beyond the door, still in the hallway, Taeyong couldn’t distinguish what the pattern was. All four of them entered the room and Taeil closed the door behind them, shutting out most of the light. Taeyong could still see the mirror as it emanated a faint green aura, but nothing else.

A flash of silver to his left made Taeyong turn. A huge white wolf stood where Taeil had been a few seconds ago. Its whole body shimmered with silver light. The wolf’s eyes flashed brown as it looked up at Taeyong and it seemed to grin at his astonished face. It apparently could see in the dark.

“Showoff”, Yuta muttered as he stepped closer to the mirror. The only reason Taeyong could discern this was because his bracelet was shining brighter, its aura mingling with the glow emanated from the mirror, like they were made for each other.

“Is your bracelet a key?”, Taeyong asked as he decided to get closer to inspect the frame.

“Well, well. Aren’t we fast learners?”, Yuta snorted.

Taeyong shrugged as he traced the flowery patterns of the wood. There were some figures engraved along the pattern and Taeyong sucked in a breath as he recognized what they were.

“Someone here knows about Alice in Wonderland after all”, he said as his fingers brushed the shapes of the characters of his beloved books.

“That is one of Hatters mirrors”, Doyoung said from behind him. “All the more reason to believe he can help us”

“Why isn’t he here with you all?”, they have seemed to know this Hatter guy very well, and mostly spoke fondly of him. Why wasn’t he part of the Rabbit’s Hovel crew?

“That is a long story”, Doyoung sighed. “The war took its toll on people”

Right. There was a war going on. Taeyong needed to ask about that. He stepped aside as Yuta raised his bracelet and touched the mirror. The glow grew brighter and illuminated the bare room around them. He muttered those same strange words that Doyoung had back in the Library’s bathroom, or at least they sounded similar enough. A white light covered the surface of the mirror and Yuta stopped chanting. He looked around at the two humans and the wolf and sighed.

“Well, let’s do this”, he clutched his bracelet to his chest. “Pool of Tears”, he said in one breath.

The light shone brighter and Yuta stepped into it, followed by the white wolf. Doyoung nudged Taeyong forward and they both crossed the mirror. Taeyong expected pain like the first time, but there was none. It took no more than a second, just like crossing the threshold of a common door. Nothing like being a willing participant of transportation spells to avoid body-crushing pain.

When the world around him came back into focus he took in the gloomy scenery. It was foggy and dark, but the lake in front of him glimmered silver just like the wolf next to him. The willow tree forest that seemed to surround them was nothing like Taeyong had seen before. It had darker shades of green, brown and purple covering the leaves. They moved gently, but there was no breeze. There was a soft wail around them.

“Are the trees crying?”, Taeyong whispered as he looked around. He could see the mirror they came from behind them, much like the one in the Hovel but it seemed older, covered in lichens.

“Weeping willows”, Doyoung said like it explained everything. Trees are not supposed to sob like this. “I should have known this is where he would hide”, he walked around Taeyong to where Yuta was standing near the lake. “So, which way?”

“I don’t know. His cottage was supposed to be at the edge of the lake, but”, he gestured around the sparse body of water, “I can’t see it”.

The two of them started circling the embankment, the wolf trailing behind them and sniffing the air. Taeyong fell behind, taking in the odd plant life that surrounded the lake. He couldn’t explain how he knew it, but they were all dripping sadness. The whole place was melancholy personified. He leaned on a particularly tall rock as he observed the others flailing around looking for an invisible cabin.

Something brushed the side of his neck and he jumped forward, unable to stop the scream that came out. A long purple striped tail waved down from the rock, an eerily grin prompted from thin air followed by a pair of bright feline eyes that flashed green as Taeyong gasped.

“What do we have here?”, the floating mouth asked as the eyes looked Taeyong from head to toes. “Magicky little thing, aren’t you?”, the grin was back, a sharp tong licking the rosy lips.

“Cheshire, of course”, Taeyong said amused. The floating eyes widened and a full body of a lean young man appeared perched at the top of the rock. His cat ears were flattened and his lips were pursed as he studied Taeyong attentively.

“You can’t use that name, stranger. I don’t give you permission”, the catlike man huffed, flicking his purple bangs away from his eyes.

“And what should I call you, then?”, Taeyong stepped closer, surprising the other and almost making him fall. He jumped down a foot away from Taeyong and fixed imaginary wrinkles on his pink long-sleeved shirt.

“Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul”, he stretched his hand out

“Well, that is a mouth-full, isn’t it?”, it was Taeyong’s turn to grin as the other rolled his eyes.

“Ten”, he sighed. “Call me Ten”.

Taeyong looked around to see if the others were within earshot. They were running back to him as they probably heard his scream. Doyoung’s eyebrows shot high as he came closer, the wolf sort of snorting as Ten hissed at him.

“Ten? Why aren’t you with him?”, Yuta asked as he came closer.

“He kicked me out last winter”, Ten pouted, his tail curling around his legs. “I couldn’t find the cottage again”

“What did you do?”, Doyoung raised an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing”, he screeched. Three pairs of unamused, unswayed eyes stared him down. Taeyong tried not to laugh. Ten’s shoulders slumped. “I may have suggested we go back to the Hovel. You all need him”, he sniffed.

Yuta put an arm around Ten’s shoulder. “We might need to do just that”, he pointed at Taeyong. “See him? He is a Trespasser”.

Ten untangled himself from Yuta’s half hug and step right into Taeyong’s face. Ten’s eyes flashed green as he observed him. He then sniffed him. “You smell otherworldly alright. But you have magic”, he said stepping back. “I saw it when you stepped out of the mirror”

“You did?”, he isn’t carrying the hat with him, Doyoung was.

“Yes. You were shining a bright blue light”, the purple catboy nodded. “It was quite pretty, actually”

“Were you born with magic?”, Taeyong was curious about this whole thing now.

“No”, Ten snorted. “I was made from magic”.

“He is the Hatter’s familiar”, Doyoung scratched Ten behind his ears and the man purred. He actually purred. “How are we going to find his cottage?”, he changed the subject again like the two or three words he used to answer Taeyong explained anything at all.

“We go around like this”, Ten stretched both of his arms and moved them around “until we hit something”, he nodded, assured. “I tried before, but all by myself is much more difficult to cover the whole place”.

“Well, that isn’t the least bit practical”, Taeil said next to Taeyong, making him jump again. There was no silver flash of warning this time around.

It may not have sounded practical, but that was exactly what they all started doing, seeing no other option. It took Taeyong what felt like hours to get halfway through around the lake. He felt ridiculous, with his arms stretched in front of him, walking in zig-zag, trying to find the invisible house. He leaned on a rock to rest, hoping that no other invisible creature came crawling behind him.

He scanned the area, taking in the ludicrous scene of the others walking around like dummies. The trees behind him wailed again and he looked back. A few steps away from where he was standing, he saw a green light flicker softly. He stood straight and slowly walked towards the gleam. It grew stronger as he got closer. He touched the gleam and the light spread up and sideways in front of him, a cottage shaped green glow.

“I found it”, he yelled back at the others. A door shone brighter at the reach of his hand and he opened it without thinking.

He peaked into the cabin and could see a few shapes in the dark. Table, chairs, a couch and other furniture silhouetted in the dark space. He took a few steps forward looking around. It seemed like it was a living room, quite normal by the looks of it. He saw movement across the furnished space and a dark shape took a few steps into the room. The silhouette was quite tall. Before Taeyong could say anything, a loud thunder echoed inside the room and it flashed green as he was thrown up in the air and into a wall, breath leaving his lungs as pain took over his whole body.

He heard Yuta scream and he could hear all four of them running towards the house. The dark figure approached him, eyes sparkling with green energy as he leaned down to look at Taeyong. The last thing he saw was an impossibly handsome face marred with sadness and then, darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE ARE TOO MANY MEMBERS IN NCT. Ok, there, I said it. I will try my best to name them all, but just know they are there in the Rabbit's Hovel, going about their business even though I don't put all their names in each chapter.
> 
> ps. I didn't lie before, they did meet in this chapter... *runs away from people who wanted to see Johnny show up already*


	4. Chapter 4

It would have bothered him a few hours ago, but so much had happened in such a short span of time that it was starting to get strangely comforting and homey waking up full of pain and in a strange bed. Taeyong was getting used to it. He stirred avoiding opening his eyes as he was equally afraid of the searing headache he was sure to feel and of what he would see once he did. His feet tickled, something fluffy brushing them, and he slowly peaked under his lashes. Ten was perched at the foot of his bed, tail swooshing on top of it and curling slightly around Taeyong’s ankle.

“You’re awake”, he whispered. “How are you feeling? Are you ok? He didn’t mean to. He thought you were…”

“Hey!”, Taeyong shushed him. The purple-haired man took his own tail in hand, practically curling around it. Taeyong gingerly pulled his body upward, resting against the headboard. “I think I’m ok. It hurts a bit, though”, it was an understatement, but the poor purple catboy was beyond anxious and disgruntled.

“He is sorry, he really is”, Ten nodded frantically.

“Who is?”, he vaguely remembered a face coming towards him before he passed out.

“Hatter”, he hushed the name out and looked around. There wasn’t anybody else in the bedroom. Just the two of them. The door was shut, the lights were off. Taeyong wondered how he was able to see if there was no source of light.

“So, we are in his cottage?”, he slowly got himself on his feet, wobbling a little. Ten shot up from his perch to hold him up.

“Yeah. All of us. He let me back in too”, he smiled shily. It was cute.

“How come I can see when there are no lights?”

“Oh… it’s a spell. People he trusts can see around”.

“Good to know he goes around slamming people he trusts against the wall”, Taeyong’s voice was dripping sarcasm. Sue him, his whole body hurt.

“He didn’t know you were you and you were with us”, Ten said as he opened the door.

There were no hallways and strange galleries here. The bedroom door opened straight to the living room Taeyong had seen earlier, except now he could actually see it. It was a simple wooden cabin with sparse dark wood furniture. There were a few colorful quilts covering the walls and almost every little object adorning the space was glowing. Some had a faint bluish light around them, others were either silver or white. The majority was bright green with magical power. There were also no mirrors. Doyoung and Yuta beelined towards him as soon as he crossed the threshold.

“Are you ok?”, Doyoung asked as he inspected Taeyong.

“How is your head? Does it hurt?”, Yuta was gently prodding his skull.

“I’ve been through this already. I know I’ll be ok”, he chanced a smile. It certainly looked more like a grimace.

“I’m sorry”, a deep honied voice echoed form across the room.

Taeyong looked over Yuta’s shoulder. A very tall man, dark hair and tattered clothes, was standing near the entrance. He was also incredibly handsome, Taeyong couldn’t help but notice. He stepped around the two who where fussing him and walked towards the tall figure. The man’s eyes widened when he saw Taeyong coming straight for him. He looked like he was ready to flee.

“So, are you Hatter?”, he stopped right in front of him. Taeyong had to look up. His dark eyes didn’t stay at Taeyong for long, full lips set into a frown. He nodded minutely. “I’m Taeyong. I’m not from around these parts”.

“I know”, tall dark and handsome sighed. “They told me”, he pointedly looked at Doyoung and Yuta, who have stepped closer.

“Where is Taeil?”, Taeyong asked as he noticed the eldest one missing.

“He is patrolling”, Ten offered. He had perched himself on the arm of the couch. “There was a lot of screaming since you got here”, he shrugged.

“Is it safe?”, Taeyong frowned. If they needed a patrol, shouldn’t someone be with Taeil? He didn’t know much about whatever was going on in this land but walking around all alone seemed dangerous.

“Shifters are stealthier by themselves”, Doyoung offered. “So, Hatter, we need to continue our conversation”, he went off changing the subject again.

“There is nothing left to say”, he practically growled as he walked across the room straight for the bedroom.

“I don’t know what they told you, but I need your help to go home”, Taeyong rushed the words out before Hatter could reach the door. “You have what? Hundreds of magic objects in this living room? One of them may be the key to take me home”.

“What?”, Hatter turned, eyebrows raised.

“Oh, yeah”, Yuta snapped his fingers. “Forgot to tell you. He was born with magic”.

“He saved my life with this”, Doyoung handed Hatter the fedora.

Hatter frowned at the hat in his hands. “This isn’t… isn’t mine”

“But Taeil said it smells like you”, Yuta scratched his head. Hatter looked pointedly at him. “Oh…. Shit”.

“Where did you find it?”, the question was directed at Taeyong.

“My boss found it at the library floor, I just took it to the storage room”, Taeyong shrugged.

“He used it to kill a shadow imp and then followed me here”, Doyoung added.

“Followed, right”, Taeyong snorted.

Hatter studied Taeyong curiously. “Your world doesn’t have magic”

“So I’ve been told over and over again. Believe me, I don’t understand any of this either”, he fell on the couch. Ten immediately jumped next to him and curled himself closer. “I think your familiar likes me”, Taeyong said amused. Ten just smiled up at him and purred.

They were all quiet for a few beats. Taeyong wanted answers. Whose hat is it if it isn’t his? How is he getting home? But Hatter seemed lost in thought as he stared at the space behind Taeyong, clutching the hat to his chest. Doyoung and Yuta found a seat each as they waited. Ten fully shifted into a cat and made himself comfortable on Taeyong’s lap. The tall man snapped to attention at that.

“He never likes new people”, he frowned.

“He was probably lonely. He has been locked out for quite some time”, Taeyong said defiantly.

Hatter’s expression seemed pained. “I didn’t know he was out there”, he practically whispered.

“How could you not know? This isn’t a big house”, he scratched Ten behind his ears, like Doyoung had done before. The purring got louder.

“I get… I didn’t…”, he let the hat fall onto a pile of magic stuff by the door. His thumbs dug into the holes of his grey sweater sleeves as he hugged himself and stared at the floor.

The room fell silent again. Doyoung kept playing around with his watch as Yuta nervously picked on the edges of his bracelet. Taeyong just stayed there absently scratching Ten’s head and watching Hatter as he stayed still, the distant look back on his face. The door opened startling most of them. Taeil got in leaving mud on his trail.

“All clear”, he said as he plopped himself down on the closest chair. He started removing twigs from his hair. “So, I’m assuming nothing got decided and you are all sulking”, he said as he looked around.

“He is being stubborn again”, Doyoung scoffed.

“You said you wouldn’t pressure him”, Yuta rolled his eyes. Taeil shook his head and looked at Taeyong, then at the purple cat purring in his lap. He got a quizzical look on his face as he stared at Hatter.

“Can you help him get back?”, Taeil asked after a few beats. “We aren’t asking for anything else”, he narrowed his eyes at Doyoung, “just that you give him the spell to his world, or something”, he sighed.

“There isn’t a spell for that”, Hatter pulled at the loose threads on his sweater. “You being here shouldn’t be possible. The Queen made sure of it”. Even though he wasn’t looking at him, Taeyong knew he was the recipient of the last few words. In his lap, Ten hissed and jumped down. He made his way to Hatter’s side and leaned on his leg.

“All the more reason for you to come back”, Doyoung murmured.

“I can’t and you know it”, Hatter snapped.

“No one blames you for what happened. You are the only one that thinks you should be exiled”, Doyoung practically shouted.

“If I go back you are all in danger”, Hatter started retreating.

“We have been for a long time. This is a war”, the silver-haired man got up and strut towards the other. “And she is winning”

“Get out”, Hatter’s eyes were glowing green again. “All of you. Get out!”

Taeyong heard a crackling of energy around them. He really didn’t want to be thrown against a wall again. He tried to make himself small on the couch but didn’t dare to move as none of the others were. One second, one minute too many went by with the green aura glowing brighter around them. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea, the man was clearly volatile.

There was a familiar flash of silver a few feet to his left and suddenly the white wolf was sniffing the air around him. Taeyong was just about to tell him it was Hatter’s magic when both the wolf and the cat ran to the lonely window close to the entrance. The wolf growled and the cat hissed again. Yuta walked near it and peaked outside.

“Shit”, he looked back at the others. “Shadow imps”.

“Where the hell did they come from?”, Doyoung crossed the room to look outside as well. “Taeil just came back”

“Youn… Hatter”, Yuta called the dark-haired man, “they have a soul trap”

“And it is probably not for you”, Ten turned back to his almost human form. They all looked at Taeyong, who wasn’t daring to get near the window. Whatever was out there was surely going to see them all loitering the small space. The energy around them crackled again but he saw the green glow diminish and expand. He looked back at Hatter and the man was staring fixedly at the door.

“You are not going out there alone”, Yuta snapped at him.

“I can give you time to get to the mirror”, Hatter moved near the door.

“They felt his magic somehow”, Doyoung stood next to him. “We won’t make it. We need you”

“Wait”, Taeyong finally caught up with their meaning. “They are after me?”

“We should go”, Ten looked up at Hatter, pleading.

The dark-haired man sighed. “Stand back. Across the room”.

They all moved as told, Doyoung practically dragging Taeyong with him. Ten stayed at Hatter’s side, hand on his shoulder, glowing green just as the energy expanding around the space they were in. Taeyong felt the hair on his arm stand up and the tall man cracked the door open silently. He saw Hatter mutter a few words as their aura grew stronger. Taeil shifted back and stood guard beside the window.

A loud shriek echoed outside, followed by a sequence of screeches that were progressively closer. With a flash of green, Ten walked a few steps back with something heavy on his hands. Hatter immediately closed the door bringing the green energy fully around it with a turn of his wrist. Ten put the object on the floor in the middle of the living room and Taeyong could see it was the old mirror they have travelled through.

“Well, this is certainly safe”, Taeil snorted as the purple haired-man poured a viscous white liquid all over the mirror surface. A loud bang on the window made him jump.

Taeyong held his scream as a shadow figure covered the whole space, a dark horned image flickering as it tried to smash the glass. The same green energy from before reverberating at every hit, like it was a barrier keeping them out and holding the house together.

“The protective spell won’t hold for much longer”, Taeil said as he walked closer to where Hatter was crouched next to the mirror. The dark-haired man chanted under his breath and the whole object glowed white and then green as it melted against the wooden floor.

“What the…”, Taeyong prayed the other knew what he was doing as that was probably their only way out.

“Doyoung, your watch”, Taeil nudged the silver-haired man who held his magic object high. Yuta did the same with his bracelet. Hatter got up and strutted to Taeyong, taking his hand in his. A pulse of energy coursed through his body at the touch and he saw green and blue energies mingling where their hands met.

“I promise this won’t hurt”, Hatter pulled him to the door and for a second Taeyong thought he was going to throw him out. He just placed his free hand on the door frame and encouraged Taeyong to do the same. “Think of the Hovel. Above it”

Well, that was an image he could easily evoke, and he clearly felt a tug at his palm as his own aura shone bluer than anything in the room. A few more loud bangs and a glass shattered. He almost moved away, but Hatter held him there. From the corner of his eyes he saw a shadow move towards him and then a silver glow snatched it. Taeil had his fangs out and was fighting the thing. More were coming, he could hear them.

Another loud screech and the shadows dissipated in Taeil’s grasp. “Anytime now would be great”, he said over the rumble of the walls as Doyoung moved to put up a white glowing barrier on the broken window.

The whole place shook and Taeyong closed his eyes, thinking of the beautiful cliff over the secret hideout, blue and green lights dancing behind his closed eyelids. He heard the screams of the things outside, the door started to shake in front of him. Doyoung breathed hard next to him and Taeil was growling.

Abruptly it all died down as he felt a strong pull on his chest. The tips of his fingers pulsed rapidly, and the walls stopped vibrating. Taeyong gingerly opened his eyes but didn’t dare to move his hand away from the door frame. Doyoung had slid down the floor, clutching his pocket watch and Taeil was kneeling next to him. He peeked outside expecting to see the lake, but all he saw was the colorful expanse of Wonderland.

“You moved the whole house”, he said in awe. He looked at Hatter next to him, his dark hair sticking to his forehead and breath erratic.

“We moved it”, he managed to breathe out. He took his hand off the door frame and pulled the loose strands of hair back. Taeyong finally let go of the frame, inspecting his own palm. It still had a faint blue glimmer to it. He really had magic within him.

“Thanks man”, Yuta clasped Hatter’s back. “You too”, he grinned at Taeyong and looked down at their still tangled hands.

“Oh, sorry”, Taeyong let go and stepped back to where Ten was sprawled on the floor. The purpled-haired man beamed at him when he sat on the couch.

“Well, this has been more than a simple cook like me could take”, Yuta helped Doyoung get to his feet.

“You should all go now”, Hatter moved away from the door. Taeil nodded and clasped his shoulder. He opened the door and left without saying anything. Yuta followed him suit, dragging Doyoung with them.

“Can I tell the young ones you are up here?”, he rushed the words out before being dragged out. Hatter nodded and looked away.

Taeyong got up and stepped closer to the door. Hatter put a hand on his chest to stop him. “Not you. You stay here. We need to find a way to get you home”.

He looked at the trio outside. They all smiled at him. “You know where to go if he annoys you”, Taeil shot over his shoulder as he walked towards the Hovel’s entrance after Doyoung opened it. Yuta gave him two thumbs up and followed the others. Taeyong chuckled as he closed the door. He turned to see Hatter sprawled on the couch with cat Ten on his belly. He looked like he had fallen asleep in the few seconds it took him to watch the others go. A wave of exhaustion washed over him. He plopped down the closest chair.

“You should sleep. That was a hard spell”, Hatter said, arm thrown over his eyes. “Take my room”

“If I’m gonna stay here, shouldn’t you tell me your name? It is going to be weird to refer to you as the Mad Hatter”.

The man peaked under his limb and the purple cat on him smiled. It was weird that he could do that, but what else would Taeyong expect from the Cheshire cat? He waited for an answer, but none came. He sighed heavily as he got up and marched to the bedroom.

“Youngho”, the deep honied voice grumbled. “You can call me that”.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people! Ok, finished my other NCT fic, now I'm gonna be here full time (well... barely...lol)  
> Let's do this!
> 
> Welcome to the "exposition" chapter... at least I tried lol

For the first time since he fell down the rabbit’s hole, one expression he could use quite literally as it was intended, Taeyong woke up with no pain, no headache. He wasn’t sure if it was day or night out there in Wonderland, but it was rather chill and dimly lit in Hatter’s bedroom. _Youngho, that’s his name._ Once again there was small mass of pink and purple next to him as Ten slept in his cat form near his pillow. He gingerly got up without disturbing the cute little ball of fur and opened the door to the living room.

Except, the living room wasn’t what he saw before him. It was a small hallway and there were two doors across from his. _This was definitely not here last time,_ his disoriented brain provided as he looked around. He was in the middle of deciding which door to use when the one on left suddenly opened revealing a very messy-haired Hatter. _Youngho!_ , his mind screamed at him. He was wearing a different but still tattered sweater.

“Good morning”, the dark-haired man huffed and strut out of the new room to open the door on the left.

“Good morning”, Taeyong followed him. He crossed the threshold to the familiar sight of the living room, but it seemed smaller as the furniture was the same, but it wasn’t sparse anymore. “How did you do this?”

“Did what?”, Hatter… Youngho… moved the couch a little closer to the fireplace and contemplated it.

“You changed the cottage”, Taeyong supplied as he walked around checking the walls. They seemed solid.

Youngho raised an eyebrow at him. “I used magic”

Taeyong rolled his eyes. “Yes, I do realize that”, he sat on the couch admiring the fire that magically flickered in front of him after a soft gleam of green, lighting up the fireplace and warming the room. “What I meant is how?”

“It is the same space. I just changed a few shapes and duplicated some others”, Youngho shrugged as he plopped himself next to Taeyong. “Now that you’re staying here, I had to”, he frowned like he wasn’t exactly a fan of the idea. “You’ll do it soon enough”, he started inspecting the cushions.

“Were you… hum… born with magic too?”

Youngho nodded. “But I was born in Wonderland...”, he trailed off as he stared at the fire.

“And I wasn’t… but still”, Taeyong sighed. “How come we have books about Wonderland?”

The dark-haired man shrugged. “History shows that there have been other trespassers. It’s not like they are accurate or anything”

“So you know about the books?”, nobody else seemed to know how Taeyong knew of Wonderland, even though they had some knowledge of his end of the mirror.

“My father…”, Youngho sighed and closed his eyes. “He has been to your world”

“Oh”, that was great news to Taeyong. It certainly meant that there was a way for him to come back. “So, he knows the… way?”

“Something like that”

“Would he help?”, the other man snorted and looked at Taeyong.

“No, he wouldn’t”, he went back to staring at the fire.

The light danced on Youngho’s face and Taeyong could notice for the first time the dark circles under his eyes. “You didn’t sleep at all”, he sighed as he observed the other man twitch uncomfortably next to him.

“I don’t need it”, he looked away, pulling on the sleeves of his sweater. Taeyong was going to say something when his stomach growled. “And I also don’t have any food”, he stared at the floor.

There was no sign of a kitchen or a storage, or anything that would be remotely related to food for that matter. “Bathroom?”, Taeyong discretely sniffed himself. It wasn’t good. Youngho shook his head. “How did you manage to survive by yourself?”

“Magic”, his answer was bitter and sarcastic. “You should have breakfast and a bath at the Hovel and then comeback here for your first lesson”, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes

“Lesson?”

“You need to learn how to use your gift”

“I need to go home”, Taeyong sighed and mimicked his stance.

“That is part of the plan, yes”, Youngho crossed his arms on his chest. “Things are complicated right now”.

Taeyong needed to know more, he needed things to be explained clearly. He had a lot more questions that he hoped Youngho would answer once they started the lesson. His stomach growled again and he got up, walking towards the front door. “Are you coming?”, he stopped at the threshold.

“No”, was all the answer he got.

“I’ll bring you something”, he closed the door behind him without waiting for the other’s response.

It was probably very early in the morning as the sun seemed to have just crossed the horizon. The air was chill and the trees at the edge of the woods moved gently on the breeze. It was eerily quiet, with the occasional coo and fuss in the distance as Wonderland awakens. Taeyong stepped closer to the steep, taking in the colorful expanse of land once more. Now that he was stranded here and it seemed he would be for quite some time, he wanted to explore. He was curious as to what extent the delirious tales of Alice would be close to the real thing. _The real thing_ , he scoffed at the thought. The crazy was getting to him.

He walked over to where he remembered the ground opening but all he saw was grass. He looked around for something that would spark as magical in his radar, similar to the mirror he saw underground. A very small piece of glass embedded to one of the trees was glowing blue and he stepped closer, examining it. _Shit,_ he facepalmed. He didn’t think this through. He never learned the words Doyoung used to open the passage. He considered going back into the cottage and asking Youngho, but the man was too grumpy and seemed to want nothing to do with the Hovel. He would probably tell Taeyong to find a way by himself.

He stared at the shining object a few beats, wondering what he could do. Could he just will it to open? He remembered how Youngho had placed his hand on the door frame of his cottage and told him to think of the Hovel, maybe it would work. He didn’t have the spell or a mirror to melt and stuff, but he wasn’t about to move a whole house from place to place. Opening a latch was much less complicated, right?

Placing his hand over the small piece, he thought of the dark damp entrance and the roots of the many trees surrounding him. He thought of the mirror inside it and the ladder that would take him down. His fingertips started tingling and his blue energy mixed with the glass’s glow. A sound of moving earth behind him and a slight shake under his feet signaled him that the passage was open. He fistpumped the air, proud of himself, once he saw the precarious steps down to the hiding place. He climbed down and went over to the mirror to try and close it.

“Holy shit!”, a voice behind him made him jump, startled. He turned to see a slack jawed Jaehyun looking between him and the entrance. “I saw you near the passage and thought you needed help coming in… how?”

“Magic”, Taeyong couldn’t stop his grin. “I don’t really know how it happened, I just thought about this place and touched the mirror”. To his surprise, Jaehyun smiled back.

“Well, ain’t that convenient?”, he clasped Taeyong’s shoulder and muttered the spell to close the passage back. “You’re lucky Doyoung changed the spell to accommodate you, or it would have hurt like a bitch”. He laughed when Taeyong flinched at the thought. Jaehyun sniffed the air around them. “You should bathe before you get to the breakfast table”, he looked Taeyong up and down. “Taeil would complain for days if he caught a whiff of your smell”

“Sorry”, Taeyong followed Jaehyun into the foyer. “It’s been… hum…eventful”

“So I’ve heard”, they could already hear the muffled noise of animated conversation in the kitchen. Jaehyun stopped near the big double doors. “How is he?”, the brown-haired man asked, voice practically a whisper, as he inspected the floor and Taeyong’s feet.

“Who? Hatter?”, the other man nodded. “He is tired”, Taeyong didn’t know much about the strange man he left behind in the cottage, but that he could say without a doubt.

“We used to be close”, Jaehyun sighed.

“What happened?”

“War”, he ran a hand through his hair. “It takes its toll on people”, he sighed. “Let’s just say… mistakes were made and he… he took the brunt of it”

“He seems sad”, Taeyong felt that Youngho carried the same melancholy as the place he chose to hide. _Maybe that is why he chose it_.

“He doesn’t want to listen to any of us”, he pushed his hands into his pockets. “I don’t think he trusts anyone anymore”, Jaehyun shook his head. “You can use that one”, he pointed to a door at the end of the hallway. “I’ll tell Sicheng to bring you some clean clothes”.

Taeyong was curious, but he didn’t know how to keep the man talking. “Thank you”, was all he said. Jaehyun nodded and opened the double doors to the kitchen. Taeyong briskly walked towards the door he had pointed out. He really needed that bath.

 

***

 

“We are getting messages about wyverns in the villages around the ruins of the Marmoreal”, Kun, Taeyong was now learning every one of their names if he was supposed to spend a long time in their company, was standing next to a pensive Doyoung as he relayed this information, with three other young men beside him.

He and his team were patrollers, as far as Taeyong understood. Hendery, YangYang and Xiao Jun didn’t exactly look like their leader, but they certainly had the same aura around them. Their dark brown hair with orange streaks, matching outfits and curious cat-like eyes detached them from the group. Taeyong was working on spotting magical creatures over measly humans, if they could be called that, and he was almost sure those four were some form of shapeshifters.

There were different types, yes, he learned that by now. Ten and the other catboy, Mark, were one kind, with their animal features mixing with their human form, something like those hybrids he would read about in fantasy or sci-fi books. Taeil was something else entirely as there was little in him that would indicate he was an overgrown wolf, unless he wanted to, and Taeyong was pretty sure he saw Jungwoo blinking like a bird. He was certain Doyoung wasn’t a rabbit, Jaehyun was suspiciously non-magical and he wasn’t sure if Jisung was indeed the Dormouse or it was just a codename the others have given him. They seemed to be all of different species, with the quartet of watch-guards having just their bright yellow eyes as a clue. Tigers, maybe? There were a lot of young men for him to assess, and by what he had learned so far while he had breakfast with the remaining members of the household, there were supposed to be a few young ladies too, but they were out on a long-term mission.

“It is the third sighting within a month and we still haven’t been able to find any clues of their whereabouts”, Jaehyun scratched his head.

“How is it possible for a group of wyverns to hide that easily?”, Taeyong intervened. He knew a little about the four limbed dragonettes for what he had read in different fantasy books. They were big, not as big as their six limbed cousins, but quite big nonetheless. “Some sort of magical camouflage?”

“They aren’t magical creatures”, Doyoung rubbed his chin. “If that is what is going on, someone is up to no good”

“It would require a powerful spell to hide a full nest of them”, Kun continued his report. “We know what they do when they come this close to other living creatures, but they haven’t attacked. So far, villagers have seen a few of them flying together over the ruins and some got closer to the boarders of the Tulgey Woods”

“Wyverns aren’t a common occurrence in Wonderland, I presume”, Taeyong stated.

“No. They aren’t”, Hendery supplied. “They are creatures from the Crims and they tend to stay there”

“The Crims?”, Taeyong couldn’t help but be curious about this strange world he was in.

“The Crimson Desert”, Yuta answered him as he filled his plate for a second time. “Red Queen’s territory, abandoned after she was defeated”

“The queen you keep talking about… isn’t the Red Queen?”, they have mentioned a war against a queen, of course Taeyong would assume it was one of the ones he knew about.

“No. The Glass Wars happened a thousand years ago”, Doyoung looked at him like he had grown a second head.

“Well, sorry if I am not caught up on Wonderland history”, Taeyong rolled his eyes. Not even all the book references in the world could prepare him.

“What do you know about Wonderland?”, Sicheng asked him, getting his chair closer.

“Not much, apparently”, the younger one gestured for him to continue. “I could list the creatures and places I have read in books, but I don’t know how useful that would be”, Taeyong shrugged.

“Wonderland was originally two kingdoms. Foeg Naru was the capital of the Cursed Lands and Marmoreal, the center of the Blessed Kingdom”, Mark supplied.

“A trespasser fell off Foeg Naru’s mirror and caused a war between the two rulers”, Yuta spoke around a mouthful of eggs.

“The historical documents aren’t really clear about how that happened”, Mark added. “Or maybe I haven’t studied enough”, he shrugged. “We know the White Queen won and united the kingdoms, bringing the inhabitants of the cursed lands here and sealing the passage. Later she created the Chroma Council and abdicated her throne”

“We had been at peace since”, Jaehyun ended their little lecture.

“What changed?”, Taeyong looked around. They said they were at war. He hasn’t seen much, but what he saw didn’t give him any indication that there have been battles recently.

“Members of the Chroma Council started disappearing a couple of years ago”, Doyoung continued. “Elected representants of each sentient group of creatures in Wonderland”.

“Have you found them?”

“Yes”, Doyoung answered, somber. It could only mean one thing, they have not survived. “Shadow imps started raiding villages close to the border of the two lands”, he stood up and walked over a chest resting close to Taeil’s usual seat. “They took those born with magic”, he opened the chest and took a strange artifact from it. It looked like a piece of carved dark stone with a crystal embedded in it. “And trapped them in this”, he handed it to Taeyong.

“What is it?”, he handled the object carefully.

“A soul trap”, Taeil answered. “An enchanted artifact designed to syphon natural magical essence. That is why they were after you”.

Doyoung nodded. “They took practically every natural born”, he ran a hand through silvery hair. “Those born with magic have much more range than those of us who use catalyzers”, his fingers brushed the pocket where he kept his watch.

“Youngho is also a natural born”, Taeyong said absently.

“He is one of the last. And now you”, Doyoung’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Taeyong touched every corner of the object lightly. It didn’t emanate any kind of magical energy. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be functional anymore. “Disabled?”, Taeyong handed the artifact back.

Doyoung nodded. “Hatter’s father showed us how to do it”, he put the soul trap back into the chest and closed the lid again.

“Youngho told me his father knew the way back to my world, but that he wouldn’t help me. Why?”, the atmosphere in the room shifted, most of them clearly uncomfortable with his question. Nobody said anything for a few beats. “What are the Shadow Imps?”, he asked instead when he realized no one was going to let him follow that path.

“Shadows of the Red Queen’s magic in the cursed lands”, Jaehyun spoke again. “We thought they were extinct until they started attacking Wonderland”

“So, when you say you are at war with the Queen…”

“A new Darkness is taking form in the Crims”, Doyoung sighed. “We are at war again”

“Where is the Hovel in all of this?”, Taeyong couldn’t reconcile the fact that there was a whole… kingdom? Country? out there exposed to those dangerous creatures while they hid underground.

Doyoung smiled. “We cultivate magic, we train soldiers. We protect the edge of the woods”, he took his watch form his pocket and placed it on the table. Sicheng and some of the others cleared the space around it. Doyoung whispered a few words with his hands placed on his catalyzer and the empty wooden table shone with white light as a map appeared on it. “This is us”, he pointed at the greenery that covered the edge of the map. “We enforce the barrier here”, he traced a line that encompassed the whole expanse of the woods. “There are hideouts here, here and here”, he touched a few places along the map, heading north to the ruins. “There is a remaining Council representative in each”.

“Are you part of the council?”

Doyoung nodded and smiled again. “I’m a descendant of the White Queen”, Taeyong tried not to laugh. Of course he was, anyone could have guessed that.

“Isn’t it dangerous for creatures out there?”, Taeyong traced the whole map with his finger.

“Yes, but they trust us to keep them safe”, Kun intervened. “And there aren’t natural born on the surface anymore”, he looked down, inspecting his shoes.

“Youngho was on the surface”, the more he knew, the less he understood.

“He is Hatter”, Sicheng spoke for the first time in several minutes. “They can’t get to him”

“He is skilled”, Yuta got up and started piling the empty dishes.

“And he is quite stubborn too”, Jaehyun sighed. A few heads nodded in agreement. It was obvious they wanted him back in the Hovel.

“How many?”, Taeyong stared at the map in front of him. “How many natural born are there?”

Doyoung closed his eyes and crossed his hands over his chest as he reclined in his chair. “With you and Hatter, four”. _Four?_ Taeyong was afraid to ask how many were there before. “Absolem in the Meadow of Living Flowers and The Duchess in the Chroma Hill”

The noise and movement around them start do die down as Taeyong notices each member going about their own business. Kun and his troupe excuse themselves, while Jaehyun gets up to assign the remaining men their jobs for the day. A full plate is placed next to him. He looks up to see Yuta standing with a grimace on his face.

“Can you take this to him?”, he asks Taeyong. “He will tell you he doesn’t need it. Don’t believe him”, he sighed. “He hasn’t had company in over a year”, he retreats to go back to his kitchen duties.

Taeyong takes the plate and walks towards the foyer. He glanced back at Doyoung, who was now busy over the map with Taeil and Jaehyun. He got a lot of information to process and it still wasn’t nearly enough. He walked back to Hatter’s cottage, breakfast in hand, trying to get mentally ready for whatever was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My idea of wyverns here IS actually from the game Dragon Age. You can find a reference pic [here](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Wyvern?file=Wyvern_concept_art.jpg)
> 
> I wish I had time to draw for this fic... maybe when I'm on vacation.
> 
> ps. I love Tim Burton. Totally using his films as inspiration for a few places here.
> 
> ps2. have I told you guys that writing fantasy is hard?


	6. Chapter 6

“Concentrate”, Youngho didn’t raise his voice, but Taeyong could see he was losing patience. “You opened the Hovel’s door easily, you should be able to do this”.

“I’m sorry”, he was starting to think he got lucky last time or that Jaehyun had played a prank on him and he wasn’t responsible for that little magic trick. He looked helplessly at the small rabbit in the cage across from where he was. Just wishing it would turn into a bird wasn’t doing anything for him.

“You already learned simple transmutation spells, this shouldn’t take this long”. Youngho sighed. He stood near where Taeyong had sat cross-legged trying to concentrate on the small task he had been given. 

Youngho had spent the first few days showing Taeyong what he was supposed to be doing. He started by mending a few broken vases, then catapulting multiple rocks from the floor against a makeshift target at the edge of the cliff with just a flick of the wrist. He watched in awe as Youngho demonstrated all things magic with ease, but he struggled focusing his energy each time. With this polymorphing thing, he hadn’t been lucky. Maybe he just ran out of magic.

“The more I think about it the less I seem capable of doing it”, the rabbit just kept munching on the lettuce Ten had given him.

“Then don’t think”, Youngho huffed.

“Maybe he is tired”, Ten purred from his perch near the cottage door, tail swooshing against the floorboards.

Youngho leaned down and cocked his head to look at Taeyong’s face. “Are you?”. Taeyong looked at him exasperated. Youngho took a step back. “If you are, you have to tell me”, he started pulling on the sleeves of his grey shirt, something he seemed to do whenever he got cornered, nervous.

His week under his care had showed Taeyong a lot, especially because they have not spent much time apart. He only left Youngho’s side when it was time to eat or if he desperately needed to take a bath. Most of his day had been exhaustedly repeating the same spells over and over again. Hatter was full of secrets, that much was clear, but Taeyong was slowly learning how to read the dark-haired, overly anxious man.

That first morning he came back with a plate full of food that Yuta had prepared for him just to find the recipient passed out on the couch. He had said he didn’t need sleep, but he was dead to the world when Taeyong came back. For the first half hour or so, Taeyong sat patiently on an armchair meditating on things he had learned and petting cat Ten, who was snoring lightly, spread on top of the armrest. He soon got bored and walked around the house looking for something to do.

Youngho slept for twelve hours straight and Taeyong had spent that time reading whatever book he could find, only leaving briefly to pick up some food. He read about the Red Queen, the stories that the boys from the Hovel had started to tell him. It was terrifying to think that the powerful and cruel being described in the book was real and had potentially returned from the dead. At least Taeyong thought so, if the book on necromancy he found under the coffee table was any indication. He read a thing or two about soul traps and shadow imps. He was fascinated yet frightened that those things could potentially hunt him down. Having his life force sucked into a small crystal was not on his to do list.

He had been brought back from his reverie when Youngho had rolled of the couch and fallen at Taeyong’s feet, quite literally. Ten snickered still in his cat form and that would never cease to weird Taeyong out. A disgruntled Hatter stood up and tried to tame his messy dark strands.

“How long?”, he asked without looking at Taeyong.

“It is already dark outside”, Taeyong marked the book he was reading. Youngho stared at the fire, completely lost in thought. “I brought you some food. Yuta sent it”, Taeyong pointed at the now two platters on the table.

“I don’t eat”, Youngho still didn’t look at him. _Sure, just like you don’t sleep_ , Taeyong thought, but didn’t say anything.

“Ok”, he said getting up. “I think I should hop back to the Hovel and take a bath”, he arranged a neat pile of the books he had been reading. “Are you still teaching me… hum… spells today?”

“Were you here…”, Youngho ignored his question. “Were you here the whole time?”, his voice was low and uncertain. Taeyong frowned at that.

“I left to grab lunch”, Youngho stepped away from him. “I didn’t want to wake you, you seemed tired”. The dark-haired man nodded but didn’t say anything. Taeyong waited, but Youngho seemed to be lost in thought. He scratched Ten’s ears and crossed the small living room to the hallway door. 

“Tomorrow…”, it was little over a whisper. “I promise”. He glanced at Taeyong once before retreating, to his room most likely. Ten smiled at him and then followed his companion.

It became routine for Taeyong to wake up early and leave for the Hovel to have breakfast. He would get there before the others were up and help Yuta with the cooking. The other grunted he didn’t have to every single time, but he still accepted his help. Every day he would go back to the cottage with food for Youngho and leave it on the table. They would go outside and practice until it was time for lunch or dinner. He never saw the other eating, but every time he came back with a new one the previous plate would be empty and clean. Taeyong didn’t say anything about it, he just quietly put the new dish on the table.

It didn’t take long until he noticed how restless Youngho’s sleep was when he wasn’t exhausted form extensive use of magic. He woke up on the second night, and every night after that, to him screaming from the other room, and a whimpering Ten at the foot of Taeyong’s bed. He took Ten’s cat form into his lap and petted his head until he relaxed, listening to the sobs on the other side of the hallway. He thought of getting up and checking on the other man, but he didn’t really know what to do. He had sooner figured Youngho was a lonely man, the sadness in his eyes speaking volumes. The others have mentioned something happening, Jaehyun wasn’t clear on what. Whatever gave him his night terrors certainly had to do with it.

So yes, Taeyong in just one week had slowly learned how to read most of Youngho’s cues. _His basic moods are sad, anxious and angry_ , he shook his head and concentrated on the rabbit again. A soft touch to his shoulders made him look up.

“We should stop”, Youngho wasn’t looking at him. Something he often did when he regretted what he had said or done. 

“I can do this, give me just a few minutes”, for some reason he felt sorry for Youngho.

“Don’t exhaust yourself”, Youngho sighed, but sat a few feet from where Taeyong was, waiting.

Taeyong focused on the rabbit and tried to find his essence, just like Youngho had told him to. There had been a lot to take in from the lecture that morning. Natural magic, ley lines and whatnots that made him confused. He had studied a bit from the books in the cottage, but they were limited. Youngho seemed to know a lot, even though he looked like he was Taeyong’s age. It was clear this was his first time teaching anything, though. He let his energy flow and tried pushing it around the rabbit. Focus on his essence, change it. He took a deep breath and pushed the blue light into the creature and whispered the few strange words he was taught. A flash and there was a very confused bird in the cage, still munching on a lettuce leaf.

“Fuck”, Taeyong got up quickly and walked towards it. “I did it”

“Yaaay!”, Ten hooted from where he was. He was forbidden by Youngho to get closer once it was all done. That bird was not his meal.

“Good, you can rest now”, Youngho took the cage and inspected it carefully.

“How do I turn him back?”, the rabbit-turned-bird was flapping his wings pointlessly.

“Polymorph is temporary. Give it an hour or so”, he whispered a few words and the bird calmed down.

“Or I could try casting it again and turning it back”, Taeyong leaned in closer. 

“No”, Youngho shook his head. “You’ve done enough today”.

“Sorry buddy”, he tried scratching the birds head through the bars when it perched closer, but he didn’t quite reach it. He could see from the corner of his eye that Youngho was looking at him. Their faces were close as they had been observing the small creature. Their eyes met and Taeyong could have sworn that he saw Youngho smile.

“It’s getting dark. It’s probably time for dinner”, the dark-haired man said clutching the cage closer to his chest. “You should go”

“You should come too”, Taeyong tried. “They are waiting”.

Youngho turned his back and made a bee line for the cottage. “I don’t eat”

Taeyong sighed. That man was lonely… and so freaking stubborn.

 

***

 

“So, I’ve been reading”, Jeno was telling Taeyong as he ate his piece of raspberry pie. Having dessert wasn’t a common occurrence and he would know by now. It was the end of his second week in Wonderland, as crazy as it seemed.

Lunch had been fancy today as they were celebrating one of the boys’ birthdays. Haechan was turning nineteen and he would soon join in his first patrol on the outskirts of Wonderland woods. Where exactly that was, Taeyong couldn’t tell. The map he had seen a few times now shows three different large spans of trees: the Mírya, pink tree tops and colorful mushrooms that he could always admire in one of the paintings in the hallways of the Hovel; the Marmoreal gardens, near the ruins of the old castle; and the Tulgey Woods, something he remembered from the books, a dark dense forest where elusive wyverns lurked, apparently.

“Doyoung asked me to research your world in the Alabaster Repository”, the young man kept talking, adjusting his glasses every so often. The pendant he wore around his neck emanated a faint, yet steady, green glow. Magic user. “I found the most fascinating things”, he paused and looked expectantly at Taeyong.

The Alabaster Repository, as Taeyong had learned, was the ancient library near the Duchess lodging, around the Chroma Hill. It supposedly contained every record of every little thing that has ever happened in Wonderland, including accounts of otherworldly trespassers to this side of the mirror. There were so many different places to learn about and he had yet to see anything other than the Hovel, Hatter’s cottage and the space in between.

“Well, do tell me, Jeno”, he smiled when the other enthusiastically shifted his chair closer.

Each boy in the Hovel had their quirks and charms. Taeyong had talked to most of them during his many meals at the hideout. They were away from their families due to their duties during this time of crises, some have lost them completely, war casualties. They relied on each other for everything and seemed to form a very functional and caring household under such extreme conditions. Taeyong would be lying if he said he hasn’t grown fond of every single one of them in the short time he had been around. _Youngho certainly misses this_ , he thought not for the first time. The dark-haired man infuriated him sometimes. He rarely stepped foot out of his cottage, except when his lessons needed a space that his abode did not provide. He was quiet most of the time, speaking to Taeyong the bare minimum, unless he was showing him some magic trick. _And he would glare at me if he heard me say ‘magic trick’ out loud_ , he grumpily picked another piece of pie.

“So, it isn’t as well documented as Absolem wanted people to believe, but I found a few scrolls that tell of other trespassers. I found three to be exact”, Jeno pulled a handful of notes from inside of his coat and put them on the table. They were undecipherable scribbles, but he arranged them in front of Taeyong as if he could partake in the reading. “This one dates from before the Glass Wars, a little girl came through unknowingly and travelled around Wonderland with Hatter”

“Wait, what?”, Taeyong almost choked on his pie. “I thought the war was a thousand years old”

“It is”, Jeno looked at him confused. Then it dawned on him. “Oh… no no no! Hatter is a title. An enchanter”

“Why would an enchanter be called a Hatter?”, and most importantly, is Youngho an enchanter? Was this his job before… whatever happened?

“He makes magic objects, we wear them”, he shrugged. “It fits”

“I suppose”, Taeyong drank a few sips of his water.

“So, yeah. He found a way to send her home. There is nothing much there”, he pulled one of the notes aside. “This one is much more interesting. During the war, a natural born made the cross. Another natural born, from your world. He could see magical auras just like you did, at least it was what the scribes wrote. He aided the White Queen. It seems he was killed by a shadow imp”, he stared at the piece of paper in his hands.

“So there is magic in my world, after all”, Taeyong scratched his head.

“The historians seemed to believe that. After the war they made a few incursions to your side of the mirror to study it, but they never had conclusive evidence”

“So people just used to go back and forth?”, Taeyong was startled by Taeil’s voice emanating from behind him.

“No, just a handful of scholars were granted permission”, Jeno shook his head as Taeil pulled a chair closer. “There weren’t notes on a spell or a chant to show the way”, he sighed.

“Nobody else knows it?”, Taeyong had to ask.

“I’ve only knew one who did”, Taeil said somberly.

“Youngho’s father?”, both men nodded, but remained silent. It was always a touchy subject in both households. Taeyong was beginning to suspect the man had passed away in a tragic manner. “What is the third one?”, he changed the subject a little.

“Oh, right”, Jeno went back to his notes. “This one is weird. It happened thirty years ago. A woman made the crossing right in the middle of the Chroma Council”

“It isn’t weird, that room is all mirrors”, Taeil scrunched his nose.

“No no, not that”, Jeno scrambled to find the piece of paper he was looking for. “She asked to stay”

“Stay in Wonderland?”, Taeil picked on the crumbles of Taeyong leftover pie.

“Yeah, and she was allowed. She even married the March Hare”, Jeno stared at his notes again.

“I’m guessing that is another title and not Jaehyun”, Taeyong observed Taeil as he pretended he wasn’t stealing from his plate.

“The guardian”, Doyoung joined them. “Yes, it is a title”

“I get why Hatter, but March Hare?”, Taeyong held his joke about reproductive cycles and unpredictable people.

“I could research”, Jeno fixed his glasses for the umpteenth time.

“I’m fast”, Jaehyun spoke from across the table. Taeyong blinked and the man was looming over him. “Really fast”, he smirked. _Well then, definitely something magicky_ , he thought.

“It isn’t just that”, Doyoung waved him over and pulled a chair for him. “Jaehyun has always been the best fighter, that is also why he was chosen as a successor”.

“March Hare, though”, Taeyong smirked back at the brown-haired man.

“I happen to be great in bed”, he leaned back on his chair wiggling his eyebrows. Jeno coughed up his water, Taeil huffed next to him. Doyoung elbowed his lieutenant, eyes wide and beet-red face. Taeyong laughed wholeheartedly.

“Is this woman still around?”, Taeil brought them back to the conversation. “This was not long ago”

“They crossed back”, Jeno handed him the piece he had been holding.

“Both of them?”, Doyoung snatched the paper from Taeil’s hands.

“Yeah, that’s what was weird. A few years after their wedding, they crossed. And never came back”, Jeno organized his notes in a neat pile, seemingly reporting everything he had learned.

“I need to talk to the Elders. Maybe Absolem knows something”, Doyoung frowned. “Why weren’t we ever told of this?”

“Can I come with?”, Taeyong found himself saying. He had been curious about all things Wonderland for days.

Doyoung cocked his head to the side. “You want to travel around Wonderland?”

“Well, I’m stuck here… I should know the place”

“You’re Hatter’s charge”, Jaehyun sat straight. “You need to ask him”

“Excuse me?”, Taeyong did not need anyone’s permission to do anything.

“What the dumb jackrabbit meant to say was that it is dangerous for you out there”, Taeil sighed. “Hatter would be able to protect you”

“Aren’t you the guardian?”, Taeyong crossed his arms.

“Yes, and he is the enchanter”, Jaehyun mimicked his stance. “If you want to come, he has to come with”

“He barely leaves the cottage”, Taeyong sighed.

They all stared at him for a few beats. “But he does”, Doyoung broke the silence.

“That is more than Yuta accomplished in a year”, Taeil clapped Taeyong’s shoulder.

He looked around at the men from the Hovel, their hopeful expressions. It finally dawned on him. “You were hoping I would bring him back”

“Well, he did take you in”, Doyoung averted his eyes. Taeil nodded.

“I don’t even know why he left in the first place”, wasn’t it too much to expect from a stranger? They must have been really desperate.

“That is his story to tell”, Taeil got up and the others followed. Taeyong wasn’t going to get much from them, he already knew that. He wrapped a few stripes of bacon on a piece of cloth and pocketed it as he walked around to where the others were talking animatedly.

He wished Haechan happy birthday for the last time before taking the plate Yuta had made for Youngho and walking back to the cottage. The less they told him about the whole ordeal, the more curious he was. Yet, he had the feeling that maybe, just maybe, he didn’t want to know. The night terrors, the sad distant eyes, the isolation. It couldn’t be anything good.

Ten was waiting at the threshold, with the door open, just as he would every afternoon. Taeyong handed him the bacon and scratched his ears. He found out the catboy didn’t have to eat as he was a wholly magical being, but he sure loved bacon. And Taeyong, apparently. He purred as they entered the cottage together, clutching both the bacon and Taeyong’s arm against his chest.

“You were gone longer today”, he pouted, purple tail swooshing from side to side.

“Haechan’s birthday”, he answered simply.

“Oh”. Something tugged at Taeyong’s heart when he saw the dejected expression on Ten’s face.

“You miss them”, he scratched his ears again.

Ten nodded. “They were fun”, he looks longingly across the room. “He misses them”.

“Where is he?”, Taeyong looked around, there was no sign of Youngho.

“Taking a nap”, Ten seemed to be distracted by the treats, curled up on the couch.

“No nightmares?”

“You know about them”, the purple catboy had half a piece of bacon stucking out of his lips. Taeyong nodded. They both listened carefully. There was no sound coming from the hallway.

“They were hard to miss”, Taeyong whispered. 

Ten shook his head. “I would know”. Taeyong remembered the whimpering ball of fur at the foot of his bed every night. “He turned in less than an hour ago”. Maybe he should ask Youngho about his connection with Ten. He knows that he is a familiar, but he doesn’t really know what that entails. Like many things magic related. He picked up a book he had been reading on potions and made himself comfortable next to Ten, who had reverted to his cat form once again.

He lost track of time as he read about the many ways one could make a concoction to cure or inflict a variety of itches and small infections. It was kind of disgusting, but fascinating at the same time. He let his fingers play with Ten’s fur absently for a very long time, feeling the purring under his hands. There were too many potions for too many things. A few hours later he heard the door behind him open and close and he knew Youngho had entered the room. He didn’t move from where he was, he didn’t turn around. He kept petting the cat next to him and trying to concentrate on the section about poisons. Fascinating.

“How long?”, Youngho’s voice was hoarse.

“Three, maybe four hours”, Taeyong was beginning to understand why he asked this question. It was a rare occasion for him to sleep without having nightmares. “I brought food”

The man silently walked over the table where Taeyong had left the platter. Youngho sat on the chair facing the couch. He picked a piece of bread and started munching on it, much like the rabbit-turned-bird from a few days ago, when he was learning polymorph. He was getting better now, but it still took him longer to do whatever Youngho did with ease. The dark-haired man watched Taeyong, eyes glued to where Ten was happily sleeping against his thigh, fur still full of bacon bits.

He ate in silence and Taeyong went back to his book. This was a new development and he didn’t want to disturb the peace by commenting on it. He remembered the Hovel inhabitants’ anxious faces as they asked questions about their lost friend. So close to where they were now, but still refusing to see them. He tried reading the same paragraph on the many properties of belladonna a few times before he gave up. When he looked up, Youngho had had his meal and had a distant look on his face as he stared at the lonely window next to the front door.

“There will be a storm tonight”, he said after a few beats. _Weather forecast magic, noted_. He looked at Taeyong. “Will you be ok?”

“As long as I am inside”, Taeyong smiled. He has never been scared of storms. “Will you?”

Youngho seemed taken aback by his question. “Yeah”, he nodded. He got up and walked towards the hallway. He stopped halfway and sighed. “Thank you”, he hushed out and disappeared through the door.

Well, that was… something.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry it took so long. I was trying (and failing) to work on my other fic. But here we are! Enjoy!

Taeyong was finally getting the hang of his magic. Youngho had seen how much he enjoyed reading the couple of books he had in disarray around the living room and given him some volumes from his bedroom. They were spell books and theoretical essays that taught Taeyong as much as Youngho did... on a good day. Every morning he would dutifully follow Taeyong out to watch him practice what he learned so far, but sometimes he would get lost in thought for an hour or two, empty stares at the pink lines of the Mírya, miles down the cliff where they stood. It was always difficult to bring him back, his eyes glassy and unseeing. He wouldn’t move, barely breathe. It was like a sad and reoccurring trance. Especially after a particular rough round of nightmares.

Taeyong would always wake up in the middle of the night, always take Ten in his arms and calm his little furry friend down, wishing he could do more than just pray for the dark-haired man to find a restful sleep. He still hadn’t had the courage to walk up to Youngho and talk about it. Not even cross the narrow hallway to the other’s room and... what? Wake him up? He didn’t really know, so he just sat on the middle of his bed and waited, listened until the sobbing had stopped and the only thing he could hear was Ten’s purring.

More often than not, though, whenever the night had been bearable and the dreams hadn’t lasted long, Youngho would provide essential pointers to help Taeyong develop and control his energy, and for days they would spend their afternoons in companionable silence as they both read a book near the fireplace. Youngho would even answer the occasional question Taeyong had for him. He would sit cross-legged on the floor and lecture, albeit shyly, about whatever it was that had pulled Taeyong’s reading to a stop. He would have the smallest smile on the corner of his lips when he was finished and his pupil resumed his studies with a renewed understanding of his role in the magic world. It tugged at Taeyong’s heart and strangely made him happy.

Either way, Taeyong was learning fast. Polymorph wasn’t a mystery anymore and he was learning conjuration spells. He started with producing flames, that was easy enough. Then he learned how to bring out vines and roots from the ground to wrap around things. It was interesting how every type of magic had a different feel to it. The more he practiced, the more he could feel it around him. He didn’t need to see the auras to know something was magic, at least if it was strong enough. Ten was pure magic and those pulses were constant just like his purring... just like Youngho.

“Why does magic have different aura?”, he closed the spell book he had been reading, startling Youngho. They were taking a break after Taeyong came back from lunch at the Hovel. Youngho quietly eating what Yuta had prepared, to both Taeyong’s and Ten’s surprise, immediately as he returned.

“Can’t you find that in the books?”, he had a half-eaten chicken leg in his hand.

“I could, but I rather listen to you”, he shrugged, sheepishly spying under his eyelashes to see the dark-haired man blush.

Youngho glanced at Ten, curled up against Taeyong’s thighs in his cat form, a constant whenever they were both reading. “Different sources emanate different energy”, he starts slowly putting the chicken back on the platter. “We see different colors because we are attuned to it as a whole and can identify the different waves”

“So they have meanings? Each color”, Taeyong set his book on the arm of the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs, thoroughly interested.

Youngho nodded, cleaning his hands and resigning himself to the impromptu lecture he was about to give. “Natural based magic… hum… nature… have this yellowish, golden glow to it. Innate magic is harvestable. Ingredients for potions, poultices, poisons. If you concentrate on most of the trees that surround us, you will see it”

“I feel the waves sometimes, when we are close to the… forest?”, Taeyong was still learning Wonderland geography and he had yet to leave the clearing. Apparently, when Doyoung mentioned going to see Absolem, he meant taking a long ass time to prepare to travel safely. Taeyong kinda understood, given the last time the white-haired man attempted to jump from mirror to mirror he ended up in Taeyong’s world, but the others seemed to travel around just fine when they went about their patrols. Maybe it was this Council thing, he honestly didn’t know.

“Yeah… it isn’t always visible”, Youngho got up and walked to a neat pile of books near the front door. “So, yellow for nature. Green is also something natural, but it is non-harvestable magic”, he shuffled through the tomes quickly. “Not without some pain and consequences”, he clutched the book he had picked, eyes lost somewhere on the opposite wall. Ten whimpered next to Taeyong and he just started scratching the catboy’s ears lightly.

“Natural born?”, he lifted his gaze to see that Youngho was staring at him intently. Not him specifically, but at him scratching Ten’s ears. Not for the first time, he looked surprised to see it. It wasn’t uncommon for Taeyong to be affectionate with Ten. The purple ball of fur was very fond of him and he reciprocated. Why not? “Youngho…”, he tried calling the other’s attention.

Youngho’s head snapped up and his eyes met Taeyong’s. He cleared his throat lightly, still clutching the tome as he got up and made his way back to the couch. “Right… yeah. Natural born magic”, he continued as he handed Taeyong the book. “Catalysts have a white glow to them because… well… they emanated too many different variants of energy”

“But Yuta’s bracelet had a green aura”, Taeyong remembered it being a key to wherever Youngho was hiding.

“Enchanted objects carry the essence of the enchanter”, Youngho sat cross-legged on the couch and Ten got up and crawled to his lap. “Just like familiars”, he looked down at his purring friend.

Taeyong observed the two of them for a few beats. They were connected through magic, Ten carried a little of Youngho in him. Did they feel each other’s pain? Because that would explain the purple boy’s whimpering at night during the streak of bad dreams. “What about the other… magical beings?”, he asked instead.

“There is a silverish glow to those who are… well… they are more than one thing…like Taeil”

“Ok… shapeshifters are silver. How about hybrids?”

Youngho looked at him a little surprised and Taeyong could see the beginnings of a smile on the corner of his lips. “You have been studying a lot these days”

Taeyong shrugged. “I gotta do something. I’m stuck here”. Something Taeyong couldn’t read flashed on Youngho’s eyes for a moment and the secret smile disappeared altogether.

“Yeah well… hybrids have a weird aura. Yellow and green. They are part of nature, but it can’t be harvested… not… you know”, Youngho got up and sat back at the chair to resume his meal. Lecture was over. Taeyong worried his lips with his teeth, what he said had closed Youngho off again. He felt his stomach lightly coil unpleasantly.

It was true that he was stuck in Wonderland for God knows how long, but it hasn’t been unpleasant. They all had taken such good care of him and were genuinely invested in finding him a way home, researching and discussing everything they found at every meal he had at the Hovel. And Youngho… he had done his best to prepare Taeyong to whatever it was they had to face, giving him books to read, teaching him magic and making an effort to look over his father’s tomes to look for a key. He wanted to convey how grateful he was, but Youngho wasn’t even looking at him anymore and Taeyong knew he would be sulking for a while.

He picked Ten up and laid him on his lap, pouring his appreciation on the cat’s fur instead, making him purr louder. Taeyong smiled. No matter how frustrated he got for not being able to fully communicate with his housemate, he could always count on Ten. He liked Youngho, he was a good man. He was just a little too caught up in his own demons and didn’t understand the concept of therapy. Or something. He shouldn’t bottle his feelings up. He should be able to talk to somebody. Taeyong was ready to be that somebody. Which was weird, but he wanted that. Youngho was teaching him so much and he was grateful and wanted to give something in return.

A loud gasp brought him back from his reverie. He looked up to see Youngho staring at him again, wide-eyed. “What?”, Taeyong asked, lifting his eyebrow. The dark-haired man didn’t answer. He looked between Ten and Taeyong again and briskly got up.

“I need… hum… I’m turning in”, he rasped out, walking hurriedly towards the hallway door. “Good night”.

The fact that it was mid afternoon had Taeyong snorting. Dealing with Youngho wasn’t easy, but he was used to his antics now. He would get distant and closed off if he felt like whatever they were doing would lead to him talking about himself. And apparently that happened often. He wished he knew what to do to help the guy. He really did, especially because the others in the Hovel were anxiously waiting for him to get the man out of his shell. Unfair expectations, but they couldn’t help it. He pulled Ten closer and buried his face on the soft fur, breathing in the strangely soothing scent of his magical being.

He heard a distant crash sound coming from beyond the hallway. The cat on his lap stretched and looked up. Taeyong saw him roll his eyes and jump towards the door, shifting midair to his almost-human self. “Just keep studying for today”, he said over his shoulder on a rare serious tone as he sauntered towards Youngho’s room. “He won’t be coming out, and you know it”, he stopped at the door to flash a toothy reassuring grin at Taeyong and disappeared down the corridor.

He sighed and picked up the tome Youngho had handed him. _On the Essence of Magic,_ by Johnny Seo. He hoped there was something about bluish colored hats and natural born outsiders. He didn’t fit in any of the categories given by Youngho. So what exactly was he?

 

***

 

“A day, give it or take”, Jaehyun said around a mouthful of eggs. Breakfast was crowded as usual, Yuta and him juggling to serve everyone around the table. “We will be able to travel for quite some time after that”.

Taeyong nodded as he handed Jisung his breakfast. Doyoung and Jaehyun had been filling him in on the state of affairs. The barriers had been reinforced and word was sent that a small party would travel to the Meadow to talk to Absolem. Kun and his troupe had been patrolling closer to the villages around it to make sure that there weren’t shadows around. It all sounded ominous when Jaehyun said it, but Doyoung just smiled at Taeyong and kept eating his cheese omelet.

“You should talk to Hatter, ask him to come with you”, Jungwoo shily stated from where he was perched on the arm of Lucas’ chair.

Taeyong sighed heavily. It was that time of the day again. The one where over a dozen pair of eyes stared at him pleadingly like he could bring their friend back. “I haven’t talked to him about any of this yet. It is… complicated”. It was hard keeping the conversation going smoothly between him and Youngho and yesterday he had locked himself up in his room, bidding his good night in the middle of the afternoon and he hasn’t seen him yet.

“I’m sure he will come around eventually, we don’t need to push anything”, Yuta stared harshly at those around the table.

“Who is coming with?”, Taeyong asked Doyoung as he sat down close to Taeil to finally eat something.

“Taeil, Jaehyun, myself, Mark and you”, he looked around the table. “Probably Jeno, if he wants to do some more research”

“How often do you all travel around?”, Taeyong had wanted to ask this earlier. Jeno had been at the Repository; a group of them was always patrolling around; but it had taken Doyoung days to get ready to go out himself.

“A large group can attract a lot of attention and it means that portals are opened for longer”, Taeil answered, clapping him on the back. “We tend to avoid exposing ourselves after an attack”, he nodded towards Doyoung who was absently touching the general vicinity of the probable scar left by the shadow imp in the storage room, the one Taeyong had killed. It seemed like such a long time ago.

What Taeil said made sense. Taeyong just nodded and kept eating, listening to Jaehyun assign tasks to everyone around the table. Yuta was in charge in their absence and most of the others would have to stay around the Hovel waiting for the party to come home.

“You’ll need heavier clothes. The Meadow is quite chill this season”, Doyoung tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Talk to Jaemin about it. He will find you something”.

Breakfast was over and they soon all scattered around doing whatever they were supposed to do. Taeyong took the extra platter that had been prepared for Youngho and found Jaemin. He took a few coats with him before walking out, leaving the noisy warmth of the Hovel behind towards the damp earthiness of the clearing. It has started raining softly and the wind has made its chilly presence known.

Taeyong closed the entrance to the Rabbit’s Hovel and made his way to the cottage. Ten was outside waiting for him, like he always did, though this time he wasn’t looking at Taeyong, but somewhere beyond him. He briskly walked to the threshold his half-feline friend had been waiting and followed his gaze to the edge of the clearing, where the incline was. He could see against the soft light that peaked around the grey clouds the dark shape of Youngho, back turned to them.

“Why did he leave the cottage?”, he asked Ten as he put down the clothes and the food he was carrying on a bench near the window.

Ten shrugged. He had a sad and distant look in his face, much like the one Youngho when he was lost in thought. “He doesn’t feel right”, he then looked at Taeyong. “It’s cold”.

“I’ll get him, get in”, he said as he walked past the Hovel’s entrance to where the dark-haired man was standing.

He walked slowly towards the man, as if he was afraid he was going to be startled by his presence. It was quite a fall from there and Youngho was standing dangerously close to the edge, so he circled him a little, giving the other the chance to see him from his peripheral. Youngho didn’t move, nor gave any indication that he had heard or seen Taeyong. He stopped next to the other man, shoulders almost touching. Youngho was staring at nothing in the horizon, eyes clouded over and distant.

“Hey”, Taeyong whispered as he slowly took Youngho’s hand in his, trying to link them so no one would trip and fall… maybe. “Are you ok?”, he kept his voice low.

The dark-haired man kept gazing into the distance, but Taeyong saw the moment awareness came back into his features. His eyes flickered around and he blinked a few times. Taeyong squeezed his hand to make sure he noticed there was someone next to him. Youngho breathed in and out a few times, but didn’t say anything.

“It’s raining and it is cold”, Taeyong tried, voice just a little above a whisper. “Can we go back to the cottage?”

“I came… I was looking… for you”, his voice raspy and low. He didn’t move nor looked away from the dark lines of clouds that covered Wonderland beneath them. “I got… lost”.

His voice was barely there, but Taeyong heard him. Had Youngho tried to get to the Hovel? Couldn’t he find the entrance? Taeyong was fairly certain that was not what he meant. He got lost… in thought… in that weird trance of his. Again. But he had left the cottage, something that never happened unless they were training.

“I’m here”, Taeyong squeezed his hand again, not sure if it was reassuring. “Let’s go in, I think it is getting stronger”

Youngho blinked and looked up to the sky as if noticing the rain drops for the first time. He closed his eyes and breathed in. “It will be quick, no storms today”. _Right, the weather prediction thing_.

“It is still cold”, Taeyong shrugged. The movement brought their entangled hands up an inch and Youngho looked down. He stared at their hands for a few beats and then slowly and almost unwantedly pulled his and turned back to the cottage. Taeyong followed him.

Ten had carried the things he brought from the Hovel inside and was waiting patiently perched on the couch. Youngho quietly sat on the floor in front of the fireplace. He didn’t move to light it, so Taeyong flicked his wrist over the wood that was resting there and summoned flames. That was a handy ability.

“You’re a natural”, Ten joked.

“I had a good teacher, actually”, he was trying to make Youngho smile, or look at him. Or something. However, the man seemed to find the carpet fascinating and didn’t move an inch. Taeyong walked to the table where Ten had put down the food.

“Did you bring bacon?”, Ten hovered next to him. Taeyong rolled his eyes and picked a few stripes from the plate to hand over to the catboy. He brought the platter closer to Youngho.

“Eat”, he put the plate on the other man’s lap and sat next to him. Youngho blinked at it then looked at Taeyong. “Don’t you dare say you don’t eat because we both know it is bullshit”, he stated before the dark-haired man could say anything and promptly picked up the book on magic essences and started reading.

He didn’t turn away from the tome, but he could hear Youngho starting to eat his breakfast. He released a breath he didn’t notice he was holding in. When he finally looked up it was to see Ten grinning at him. He winked at his furry friend. That was what he called progress right there. They stayed there in somewhat companionable silence for a few minutes, the only sounds in the room were the crackling of the fireplace.

“We are going to see Absolem in a day or two”, Taeyong said after he tried to start a new chapter a few times. He was ok with silence, but only when they were all doing something, like reading or in Ten’s case, napping. But he noticed Youngho just staring at the fire. That, he couldn’t stand.

“It is dangerous”, Youngho’s words had no inflection to them.

“So I’ve been told. But I am going anyway”, he closed the book and looked at the man next to him. He had his eyes trained at the flames, but he was listening. “You could come with us”, he tried.

Youngho nodded and Taeyong thought for a second he had finally agreed to see his long lost friends. His heart picked up the pace a bit. “Ten will go with you”, he got up and walked to the dresser behind the couch. Taeyong sighed disappointed.

“You’re letting me go on a road trip?”, Ten was a little confused, but didn’t really seem against the idea. Youngho’s eyes shifted to his familiar and they stared at each other for longer than Taeyong was comfortable with. Ten suddenly nodded. “Where are we going again?”, he had that toothy excited grin plastered on his face, his tail swishing from side to side.

“The Meadow”, Taeyong answered as he looked back at Youngho, who was searching the drawers for something.

“I hate those flowers”, Taeyong could almost hear Ten scrunching his nose in disgust.

Youngho finally found what he was looking for. He held up a small object against a bare space on the wall behind him. Taeyong could see what looked to be a very small mirror. Youngho said a few words with his palm pressing the object against the wall. A familiar flash of green and the mirror grew until it was almost at Taeyong’s size. Before he could ask anything, Youngho proposedly stomped towards him and pulled him to his feet.

“What are you doing?”, Taeyong nearly squeaked as he was practically yanked up, Youngho’s hand around his wrist, and pulled towards the new big mirror on the wall.

“Teaching you the way back”, Youngho huffed.

“Ok…”, Taeyong trailed off. That was going to come in handy, for sure.

“It is always easier when you are familiar with the place you need to go”, Youngho looked straight ahead, avoiding his eyes through the mirror. “We can start with the Hovel”.

“What do I do?”, Taeyong stepped closer to the mirror, inspecting it. It was simple, no frame…just glass.

He heard some more shuffling and Youngho was turning him around, taking his wrist again. Something cold touched it and he saw as Youngho fastened a small chain around it, like a bracelet. He held Taeyong’s hand delicately between his for a moment and closed his eyes pulling it closer to his chest. His left fingers touched the chain as he chanted a few times. There was a strange, but not unpleasant, warmth waving from Youngho’s fingers through the bracelet to Taeyong’s wrist. He saw it start to faintly glow green, just like Yuta’s bracelet did.

“You made me a key…”, it wasn’t a question. He knew exactly what that was. Taeyong watched as Youngho slowly opened his eyes, the magic light behind those dark pupils slowly fading. They were standing really close, Youngho still holding Taeyong’s hand. The dark-haired man stared at him and for some reason Taeyong’s heart decided skipping beats was necessary.

“I will teach you the spell when we have more time”, Youngho spoke, still holding his hand. “This is just faster”, he looked down at their hands and, much like it had been at the clearing, pulled back slowly. He took a step back behind Taeyong. “Just put your hand over it”.

“I’m lucky I know an enchanter”, Taeyong smiled. He felt Youngho huff behind him. Hot air tickling his neck. He fought down a shiver and took a deep breath. He placed his hand on the glass.

“Think of the Hovel”, Youngho spoke again. “Open the door”

Taeyong closed his eyes and concentrated. He pushed his energy forward like he had done with the Hovel’s entrance so many times. He knew that mirror wasn’t big enough, so he sought out the wooden carved frame, the lone mirror in a dark room. He felt his wrist warm up a little and a pulse of blue light mixed with green opened a portal under his hand. Youngho rested a hand on his waist and gently nudged him forward.

The room they step into is completely dark, but he could see the light from the hallway filtering under the door. Three globules of dancing lights suddenly flick to existence illuminating the small space and Taeyong turns to see Youngho wearingly looking around.

“It worked”, Taeyong steps away from the mirror. He looked at the chain in his wrist. “Is this just for the Hovel?”

“No. It is for places you are familiar with”, Youngho fixed his eyes at the door.

“There aren’t many”, Taeyong shrugged.

“I… we… I should go back”, he was clearly uncomfortable. They were at the Hovel. The place he had been avoiding for over a year. Taeyong heard voices coming down the hallway outside. They were close.

“Ok, how do I open the portal back? Same thing?”

The door was suddenly opened, Sicheng and Jisung stepping through with what looked like brooms and buckets. They were probably on cleaning duty today. Youngho inhaled sharply behind Taeyong and the two boys froze at the site of them.

“Hatter…”, Jisung whispered as Sicheng broke into a bright smile.

Taeyong heard a new chant and movement behind him but when he turned, the portal had already closed on him and he was left behind. He touched the mirror to try and open it again, thinking of the cottage, but he felt as there was nothing there to open. “Damn it, Youngho”, he said under his breath. He had probably put the mirror back the way it was on the other end.

He sighed heavily and turned to the two confused and visibly hurt boys in the doorway. “Don’t take it personally, he is trying”, it was partially a lie, but Taeyong would hang on to that right now.

Sicheng nodded. “What were you doing?”

“He was teaching me how to… you know…”, he gestured to the mirror behind him. “Just in case I need it when we are out”. Both boys nodded and then quietly left the room, cleaning duties momentarily forgotten.

Taeyong cursed inwardly. He had to walk back to the cottage. In the rain. Again.


End file.
